


In Darkness

by Bluephantom



Series: Demons and Half-Bloods [2]
Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler, Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Crossover Pairings, Implied Relationships, M/M, Original Character(s), crossovers, original characterxcharacter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-23
Updated: 2014-04-18
Packaged: 2018-01-02 11:14:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 83,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1056104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluephantom/pseuds/Bluephantom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The final child of Hades, Hazel, is taken to England to be protected by Earl of the Underworld Soma Asman Kadar. Hazel is thrown into a world of monsters, demons, truths and arcane details that were formally covered before by lies with little preparation for everything she is about to encounter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lady Hazel

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again everyone! Just so you know, this is set in modern times after the demigods closed Tartarus as well as after the events of the first part of this series, and *** indicates a change in narration.

        I saw Nico slumped on the couch and I welled with anger. I drew my weapon and Sebastian only laughed. “My lady,” he said walking into the room, “vampires look dead when they’re asleep.”

“What?” I said, and he shook his head.

“Nico is a vampire now by order of Hades.”

“But, but…why would he do that?”

“Because he can’t deal with the death of his children. Soon even you might face the same eternal fate as Nico by a different path.” With that, Sebastian gently shook Nico’s shoulder and he woke up. I was nearly knocked off my feet when he hugged me.

“I missed you.” Nico said simply, “I missed you a lot.”

“I missed you too.” I said hugging him back, “Hades, I thought you were dead.”

“I’m not.” Nico said, “But in some respects I suppose you can say the Nico you once knew is dead.”

“Nico, you’re my brother no matter what you are.”

He hugged me a little tighter, then let go. He looked back at Sebastian. “HEY! What are you doing here?” Even though Sebastian had been the one to wake him up, he hadn't noticed him, and now seemed defensive. 

“ I am the butler, why wouldn't I be here for a major event such as this?”

“ But I gave you three weeks off.”

“ Sorry sir, but I figured my presence was required for the coming of your sister in case she planned anything.” His smile vanished. “Or were you planning something, Master, against Master? She’s here, and you know her hate is still raw for monsters. Did you think of the likelihood that she would kill him, where you planning that as well as an escape?”

“ No, what, no!” Said Nico, “I would never do that to Ciel, and you know it!”

Sebastian chuckled. “Just testing you, Master.”

“You bastard.” Nico glowered at him, yet he smirked and approached the doorway. Nico grabbed my arm. “No. I don’t trust you with my sister!” Sebastian’s gaze turned a little hurt.

“Fine.” He said, “I suppose you will show her the mansion then.”

“Yes.” Said Nico and Sebastian left.

 “I don’t trust him.” I said, noting how in old Bible stories the devil always seemed tempting. Well, "Sebastian" seemed to fit that profile to a fine point. 

" Neither do I, and I see him every day," Nico said. 

       Nico and I walked around in silence even though there was a lot I wanted to say. I think he was expecting me to say something, but I wanted him to tell me a little bit first. I began anyways. “So, L and Dante, are they here?”

“Yup.” Said Nico, “They're just in different parts of the house right now. L stays in his room a lot, and Dante does whatever the heck he does.”

“ Rude!” I jumped ten miles before turning around to see Dante. He'd been silent when he came in. “I do quite a lot even when you aren’t around to see it.” Dante said, and then he smiled at me. “Oh Hazel! How wonderful to see you again.”

“You too.” I said, and he grabbed my hand.

“Come! Let’s go do things!” He dragged me off somewhere, and Nico followed behind us, eyeing Dante suspiciously. It didn't take me long to figure out that Nico didn't trust these people at all. 

      He brought me into a very purple room where Luka and an unknown blond boy sat. I assumed it was Alois; the boy whom I had assumed was Luka’s sister until he laughed and told me that Alois was his brother. “Hello Hazel!” The blond waved at me. “My name’s Alois, Alois Trancy.”

“Hi.” I said, and then looked at the butler standing in the corner. I knew he was the butler because something just signaled him off as a butler. He stood up straight, wore a black suit that was different from Sebastian’s, and wore steel framed glasses. “Do all you people have butlers?”

“Everyone except Erik.” Said Alois with a smile, “I suppose Luka has Hannah, but he also has Claude since he’s my brother, so.” He shrugged. “And why isn’t Sebastian showing you around? Isn’t Nico entitled to the servants just as Dante is entitled to mine?” He looked at Nico, and laughed. “Perhaps Claude really is the better butler!”

“No,” Nico said, “I don’t trust him alone with Hazel because she has a soul.”

“Yes.” Said Alois in a tone that sent chills down my spine. It was almost dreamy, yet it sounded hungry and calming like that of a monster. “A very nice one too. If Luka were a human with a soul like that, I wouldn’t trust him alone in this house either. Out of sheer curiosity, Hazel, what blood type are you?”

“No.” Said Nico, pointing a reprimanding finger at Alois.

Alois laughed. “Just keeping you on your toes, Nico! You’ll need that sooner than you think; after all, the Halloween Dance is in a few days!”

“That’s right, isn’t it?” Nico sighed, “We’re hosting it?”

“You bet!” Said Alois, and then his smile turned into a frown. “Dammit Nico! Because of all of you here we haven’t been able to hold dances for the longest time! Get over it!”

“ So,” I said, “I’m going to be surrounded by monsters.”

“Yes, and demons.”

“Oh joy.”

“Don’t worry, they might not kill you!” Alois said happily, “just don’t mention anything about your life, perhaps not even your name. Man, is Soma in for a nasty surprise!" He laughed, it was obvious something was wrong in his head. " Let’s hope Agni is ready to fight!” When I began to think about it, Soma and Agni weren’t like the people I was encountering. They seemed like normal, nice and friendly people. I wondered how they could stand stuff like this kid, who apparently had a few screws loose.

“Uh, so, yeah.” I said, slowly backing away. Dante grabbed my hand again.

“Hazel, sometime tomorrow or another day would you like to go shopping?”

“Shopping for what?”

“Clothes, shoes, the usual.” His mad smile almost seemed hopeful.

“Sure.” I said, even though I didn’t want to. I almost felt bad for him for some reason, and I had no idea why. Maybe it was just kind of sad to think that at one point he was just a normal demigod kid and now he was this deranged monster.

“If you don’t mind, Dante,” Nico approached calmly, “now that you have showed Hazel your boyfriend, I would like to show her mine.”

“Oh! I almost forgot, she hasn’t met Ciel!” He laughed, and sat next to Alois. “ By all means, go.” Nico nodded to me, and we left the room.

“ Well, they’re odd.” I said, and he nodded.

“ That’s just them, they’re kind of not there in the head if you know what I mean. Don’t take it personally. Dante threw me off a roof.”

“ Why?”

“ Because he did. Finny was below to catch me, so.”

“ Finny?”

“ He’s a Phantomhive servant, the gardener in fact.” Said Nico, “ that’s who I’m bringing you to. The head of Phantomhive house, my boyfriend, Ciel Phantomhive.”

“ The one who Percy tried to strangle and got stabbed while trying to kill?”

“ Yeah, that’s Ciel.” Said Nico, “ Don’t bring that up, okay? It’s kind of hard for me to think of him like that.”

“ Okay.” I said, and he turned down the hallways. I tried to make mental notes to myself of where stuff was, but lost it because it was overwhelming. The house was big, and it almost seemed like how I would imagine Daedalus's labyrinth. Finally, Nico knocked on a door, and Sebastian the butler opened it. He smiled, but did not say a word as we came in. His smile sent shivers down my spine-it wasn't a normal human smile. That was a demon smile, as creepy and scary as demon smiles could get. But at the same time it was almost beckoning, like it was waiting for bad things to happen or as though it was waiting for you to do bad things. It was one of those smiles that would linger with you in your mind, that you could still feel was on as you slept in the night, suspecting bad things to happen. 

       The office looked very official. There was only a bookshelf, a small table, and a desk. On the desk was a computer and paper work in piles and stacks. On the side of the desk was a large filing cabinet, and in the front of the desk were two official vintage chairs. At the desk was a boy. He looked around Nico’s age, though he seemed short for his age. His skin was pale, making his red eye stick out more. The other eye had a black eye patch concealing it. He had delicate hands, and though his figure vaguely resembled a woman’s, he was handsome. He had black hair, and his nails were unnaturally black too. As he looked at his papers, he glanced up at me, and then down at the papers. He seemed hardened like stone, perhaps even a little sad. Yet there was a certain feel about him when he looked at Nico. I could tell he was waiting for Nico to make the introductions, and he did. “ Ciel, this is Hazel.” Nico said, and Ciel Phantomhive looked up from his paper works.

“ Good morning, Hazel.” Said Ciel in a tone that I felt was usual for him. I looked around the office.

“ So, what kind of business do you run?” I asked him, feeling more comfortable with him than Alois. Even though I knew he was a demon by his eyes, the feeling I got from his presence felt less crazy, less ominous. I wasn’t dumb, and I knew that he could be worse.

“ I run a toy and confection company, but today I’m handling business with demonic fugitives that came from America. They were caught by Earls and put into proper confinements, yet I’m sorting the paperwork out. If they eluded the Earls and hid, it would be my job to find them. You are bringing a lot of trouble-makers to this country.” Said Ciel in a cool monotonous voice, “ on the bright side, the reapers will have plenty of demons to kill and it will be good for us that they are dead.” He seemed like he was of aristocracy, fine and polished. 

“ As in, the Grim Reaper?” I shivered, remembering the judges of the Underworld and Thanatos. 

“ No, there’s more than one, as well as more than one breed and dimension.” Said Ciel, “ Nico’s met one.”

“ Grell.” Nico said with a nod. “ Grell Sutcliff, who was also Jack the Ripper.”

Ciel nodded, but I did not understand one word. I guessed that I would though.

“ Either way, Hazel, it is a promising sign to see that the three of you made it back here. That’s not enough to gain the Earl’s full trust, but it’s a start. You did not tell, which means you can be trusted.” Said Ciel, then he looked back down at the papers.

“ Are Earls mostly demons?”

“ Yes, mainly because demons are around Hades more because obviously, we are acclimated to hell. However, you have a mix of Earls, like Soma. He is a werewolf; lycan or lycanthrope is a preferred term however.” Said Ciel, “ it will be my job to protect you during the lunar phases, even though they still can. They’ll just look like very large wolves.” He looked back up at me. “ Doesn’t Camp Jupiter have a connection with wolves? Lupa, correct, the one who raised Romulus and Remus?”

“ Yes.” I said, “ As a Roman demigod, I suppose I have a connection to wolves.”

“ Perhaps that’s why he saved you for the end.” Said Ciel, “ either that or he hates all of his children equally.”

“ Excuse me?”

“ Think of this, Hazel. He sends Nico to live with a demon, forcing him to live with a monster, one of the things he hates most in the world. It sounds like torment one would inflict on their worse enemy: making them live with the thing they hate the most, and then making them into that thing once the living with the thing they hated proved unsuccessful in bestowing pain. He lets another son go mad, let’s monsters take everything he has until he has no family and not even a penny to his name. He lets said son’s Mother die, the Mother who was initially his only protection from the horrible things that awaited him. Your Father let this son, Dante, chip away into complete madness, and never even once suggested he go to America by shadow traveling." That sent a bit of sympathy through me as I remembered his insane smile, the insane gleam in his eyes. He had never been happy, he was broken and no one ever helped him just like Hades had never helped me. Only in Dante's case, it had broken him. "He did not even tell him of you and Nico’s existence." I couldn't help but to think that, despite his insanity, he had been as welcoming as he could be.        " Then we have L. L barely talks about his own childhood. He lets him grow depressed and lets him lead himself into death’s way. Once he dies and is brought back, he must flee, and he has almost nothing to start out on again." L did seem kind of sad in his own way, and he didn't talk about his life at the house as much as Dante seemed too. " Then there is you. You are one of the most wronged. He lets you sacrifice yourself, he curses his own daughter and leaves her with her Mother who essentially hated her very being up until the very end. When your brother leaves and is said to be killed, he lets you suffer, and then forces you to leave everything you once loved behind in order to see him again.” The truth seemed even worse when it was told in the monochromatic tone of Ciel’s voice. I didn’t know what to say after that. Nico looked over to me sadly but quickly looked away. I wondered what he could have seen in this obviously cold-hearted demon, or why he would even think of being a relationship with him. Did he even love him? Did Ciel even love Nico? I didn’t know. Nico put his hand on Ciel’s desk, and sighed.

“ Was that really necessary to say today, if any day?”

“ Yes, I believe it was.”

“ You’re not helping your cause of getting her to at least respect monsters.”

“ Nico, that was never my intent. She can believe anything she wishes even if it is a lie. However, those beliefs may kill her.”

“ Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?” Nico said, there was anger in his eyes, but he calmed down, looking like he realized something. “ Ciel…” Nico shook his head and looked at me. “ Let’s go, Hazel, I have the rest of the house to show you.” He said bitterly and I nodded, hoping that I would figure out what he and Ciel were talking about.

***

        “ Young Master.” I said, walking towards him. “ I know why you are being like this.” I laughed, it was very apparent how he felt about it.

“ Don’t mock me and my feelings, Sebastian.” Said Young Master giving me a warning glance. “ It is just that with her here now, she and Nico will be doing things together. I want Nico all to myself, Sebastian, and with her here there is no way that I can fully have him all to myself. I want to own his heart completely, just like a child does not wish to share their toys, I do not wish to share my lover. I don’t want him to love anyone else even if it is love in a different form.“ That was the Young Master I knew. He did not like to share certain things, and apparently, Master Nico was one of those things. He was jealous of the attention Lady Levesque was getting, for he wanted to own copious amounts of the other Master's time. “ I will try not to show it, no matter how much it pains me.”

“ Why not get rid of what’s in your way?”

“ I don’t want to hurt Nico. I love him, Sebastian, I love him so much." I concealed my shock as I had never heard him even utter those words, let alone proclaim them with such vigor. " I believe that I have hurt Nico enough. I stabbed Percy Jackson because I was forced to in self-defense, I brought him into this demonic, monster world which he hated so. I hate what I have had to do, and I try to make up for it however there is no way too. He should hate me, Sebastian, and I’m afraid that if he breaks away he won’t come back, for something that is lost can never return.” The Young Master’s voice was tainted in emotions I had never heard from him ever, I would probably never hear them again. They were very uncharacteristic of him, but love made people say things they usually would not say. He kept composed despite the fact I knew he was close to tears. He said not a word to me after that, not a single syllable. He did not do paperwork, yet he just sat there, head in his hands, thinking. Seeing my Young Master that way brought me unpleasant feelings, feelings that could be easily dispelled but at the same time they could not be. So I stood there half-loathingly, watching my Young Master sit in pain and emotional distress when there was nothing I could do about it. I think it was then he realized just how dependent he had become on Master Nico, how much Master Nico meant to him, and how much he wanted him by his side.

***

       Unlike the usual, with the new edition, the table was quieter. I stood, on looking and serving the food as usual, however I could not stop looking at that gem of a soul that Lady Levesque had. As a mere butler, I was not worthy and could not eat it as order of my Master, but looking at it made me hungry. So, as conventional, I avoided eye contact with her at the table. She looked at me with her golden eyes curiously as though she wanted me to state my name. However, I did not, for if I opened my mouth any further it would be that much more enticing to pluck her soul out and eat it.

     After dinner, it was relieving to be away from the temptation. I went to put a ward on the spider in the upstairs cobweb, only to see unfortunately, the smiling crow butler had come to it first. _Whack. Whack. Whack._ Four whacks turned into five, and five quickly turned into ten, which turned into thirteen whacks total. The spider beneath had no chance whatsoever of hope or life. Sebastian did not smile at me, which was unlike his custom after killing a spider by whacking it thirteen times with an old newspaper. Instead, he walked with his head cast down slightly, standing by my side for a moment. “ My Master is in pain because of her.”

“ Oh? Is it the pain of starvation, lack of an adequate meal?” I smiled, it was unlike Lord Phantomhive to want a soul just as it was unlike my own Master, but such a tantalizing soul made even the humblest demon’s mouth water.

“ No,” said Sebastian defensively, “ it is not. It is the fact that he shall not have the undivided attention of the other Master.”

“ That’s it?” I snickered, and he shot me a glare. 

“ So you all underestimate his feelings for the other Master.”

“ No, I do not. It is merely the fact that Lord Dante wishes to invite her to shop with him, my Master, and Master Luka.”

Sebastian scoffed. “ If the other Master does not trust even me with his precious sister, how is he to trust you, a demon known to do anything for the best soul? And, if he trusts you, which is still unlikely, how is he to trust Lord Trancy or Lord Dante for that matter?”

“ If you are a truly the Phantomhive butler, Sebastian, why are you airing the feelings of your Master to me, your worse enemy?” I eyed him cautiously, he did not answer me. Instead, he left, walking down the hall and away from me. As usual, he was leaving me to clean up the spider and the spider’s web. I took a feather duster, and took away the remains of the hopeless spider away.

***

         “ He was never mine to begin with.” I said to Sebastian as he came into my room. “ He always belonged to and with demigods. He’s like a caged bird. Yet, even though the door has opened, I long for him to be in the cage again. I want him to be mine again, just as he was before she came.” I did not turn to him, but I had a feeling it was him.

“ I-Is that the way you feel about it, Ciel?” I whipped around towards Nico.

“ How could you not know, Nico? With her around…you won’t be with me, you’ll always be around her and you cannot convince me that this is not true.” I said, and he laid next to me on my bed. “ Deep inside, you always longed to be there again. You missed Percy, you missed Hazel. And just when you were getting over it, this happens. I've known this probably ever sense that first day I saw you there, in the Underworld.”

“ No, Ciel. That’s not how it is.” Said Nico, he got closer to me and held me, and I enjoyed his embrace. He laughed, “ you jealous little demon. Hazel will more than likely get back to Camp Half-Blood. If she misses Frank as much as I expect her too, she’ll find her way back. And until then, I’m not going to leave you behind. Hazel will just have to get used to you. I shouldn’t have acted that way before…I should have seen that you were jealous.”

“ I was and am remaining to not be jealous!”

“ Ciel, jealousy by definition means being envious and demanding loyalty. You want the attention that Hazel gets and you always want me with you. I know you better than you think, I just need to think more in depth I guess. I was caught off guard.” He held me closer. “ It’ll be okay.”

***

       “ Oh Hazel!” She faced me, looking confused.

“ Hey, Soma, where’s Nico?” She asked, looking around.

“ I have no idea.” I said, “ But have you seen your room yet?”

“ No.” Said Hazel, “ actually, a nap would be nice right around now.” I nodded, noticing how tired she looked.

“ Come on.” She followed me to her room, and I opened the door. She looked around the room, and gave an approving nod.

“ It’s nice.” She said, laying on the bed. “ How’d you know I liked these colors?”

“ Your dad.” I said, “ Well, anyways, I think you need to get some rest, so.” I left her, and closed the door behind me. That was when I realized she hadn’t met Erik or Krista because they were on a date somewhere. Krista was the only official human in the household, so of course Hazel would want to meet her. I shrugged, figuring that the next day was always a good day for everything, and went to bed.


	2. Farther Introductions

***

      “So, you’re Hazel.” I said to the girl I was sitting next too.

“Yes, and who are you?” She asked me, “You weren’t here last night.”

“My name is Krista.” I said, “And I live here. Erik, whom is the other new person over there, is my boyfriend. We were on a date last night.” I read a few thoughts in her mind. She seemed like a nice girl. She looked at Erik curiously. “He wears it to hide a disfigurement,” I informed her. 

“Oh.” Said Hazel, looking back down at her plate. “I was wondering why he was wearing that mask.”

“I know, Hazel. I can read minds.” I said, “It’s a talent.” I levitated a muffin towards me, and it finally landed on my plate.

“Okay.” She said, “not to be rude, but what are you? I mean, everything in this house seems to be something.”

“ I’m nothing more than what you are. Despite our powers, we have souls and consciences. We are human, or at least human-like.” I said, “but I can’t judge the fact that you would think I am a monster. Indeed, we are the only two here who are not monsters.”

“How can you stand it?” Hazel said, “To be here and be mostly mortal?”

“Many things have happened to me, Hazel; things that I do not wish to speak of. I have met worse monsters in this life. I believe that our definition of 'monster' is different. To me, monsters are people. Humans are more like monsters than monsters themselves.”

“Have you ever even fought monsters?”

“Not the kinds that you fight.” I said, “Or at least I don’t think you have ever and will ever fight.”

“I think I’m getting what you’re saying.” Said Hazel, “this place is already confusing me without it's inhabitants being weird.”

“It will.” I said, “When you can’t read minds and are plunged into a world you barely know nothing of, of course it will be confusing.”

“I really don’t know that much about this place.” Hazel agreed, and I noticed she finished her breakfast. I quickly ate my muffin and got up.

“Would you like to come with me?”

“Sure.” She said, and got up from the table. Nico eyed me suspiciously, but I might have been the only one he trusted with his sister. He looked back to Ciel, and I left the hall with Hazel.

       “This place is big.” She said, “Do they really need all of this space?”

“To host parties they do. Hazel, there is about 400; 500 or more Earls of the Underworld, and some stay overnight after parties as Erik told me.”

“ Like the Halloween one that’s going to be in this mansion?”

“ Yes, exactly like that.” I stopped, “so I suppose you should watch yourself, Hazel.”

“And what about you?” Hazel said, “If your human too, shouldn’t you watch yourself?”

“No. I can incapacitate and kill anything with my mind-control, as can Dante. You see, Hazel, we don’t just work in the conscious part of the brain; we can also meddle with the involuntary. A few switches off is all a person or creature needs to die.” I said, and she looked a little shocked, but quickly maintained calm.

“Are you a murderer?” She said, her features were cold. “ That’s why you aren’t scared of the monsters and the demons, you’re warped from things you did.”

“ No, Hazel, I am warped from things that have happened, things that have forced me down a path I did not want to go down. I have killed, Hazel, but I do not believe I am a murderer.” Images flickered in my mind. _Never again._ “ The people who I killed were never people to begin with.” I scoffed, perhaps at her, perhaps at myself. “ Do you honestly think people aren't monsters, that they can’t be worse than the demons in this house?”

“ I know they can be.” Said Hazel, “ but how many does it take for the lines of monster and human to get blurred?”

“ Not as many as you think.” I said, “ We both didn’t have easy lives, Hazel. It’s not going to get easier for you, either. There are still things about this deal that are being decided, and things that you must learn as they are. Even though the deal is ‘completed,’ you are here with us, being protected by Soma by order of Hades, there are certain things about you being here that must be and are secretly established.”

“ Like what?”

“ There are secrets, know that much. The other demigods do not know Earls exist, and you do, which already gives you extreme power. Since there were battles out of anger with certain gods, Hades and the other Olympians made a pact that no demigods, unless by order of Hades, would know of the Earls’ existence. It was made shortly after the pact of 'no more demigods of the Big Three.' In that way, they became a secret society to keep peace between Hades and the monsters that dwell below the earth as well as the creatures of darkness that choose to follow the Olympians, live above or below the earth, or follow Hades. Before that measure was taken, Earls were killed out of anger towards Hades or monsters, and it was a dangerous time. He needs them, and now that Tartarus is closed, he cannot risk losing them. Letting you go back to Camp Half-Blood would be a risk because if they found out, well, imagine how angry they would be.”

“ But, they already sort of know about Earls after all of the stuff with that election and-”

“ Did you tell other people in the Camp about it?”

“ No. Come to think of it, we only talked about it when we were alone with each other.”

“ According to Erik, they're going to wipe their memories of that event soon.” I said, “ They are going to also wipe the memory from their minds about Nico being dead. It should come tonight, actually.”

“ And how do you know this?”

“ Because I, Dante, and a few others are going to do so tonight.”

***

      Something about Krista nagged at me. It wasn’t negative, and it wasn’t positive either. Her appearance was normal. She was a pretty girl with cutting blue eyes and black hair with a slight wave to it, also she was very tall and skinny. (Though she was shorter than her boyfriend but then again everyone was.) Yet her words were like those of a person from another world or a person exposed too many different worlds. It was hard to believe that she was the only other person in the house who wasn’t a monster. In fact, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she was one. When she left, I went to find Nico, only to find that I had absolutely no idea where I was going. “ They should have a map of this place.” I complained even though there was no one to hear me.

“ I could take you to where you need to go, Mademoiselle.” I turned and jumped. It was the tall person in the black suit who wore that kind of creepy white mask. I noticed he had a French accent. “ You’re heading to Nico, correct?”

“ Um, yeah.” I said to the creepy masked Frenchman.

“ Come with me.” He said, and I followed him. “ My name is Erik, by the way.”

“ I take it you read minds?”

“ I don’t bother to that much. No, it‘s much more interesting to find things out on your own.”

“ Okay.” I said, “ Well, if you read my mind, you’ll get the gist of how much I’m getting frustrated at this place.”

He chuckled. “ Oh, come now, Mademoiselle. We could be worse.”

“ Oh really? I’m not going to see my boyfriend again, I can’t navigate my way through this stupid place, I have to deal with demons-”

“ Who have to deal with your complaining.”

“ Hey! You called my complaining onto yourself!”

“ Must I think carefully at whatever I say in my own home?”

I sighed, “ I just want to go back to Camp Jupiter.”

“ You’ll adjust to this place.” He said, “ Eventually you’re going to have to. I’m surprised Soma isn’t around.”

“ Last I saw him was at breakfast.” I said, “ You know, you should have maps for this place.”

“ If it was charted, Mademoiselle, you’d never explore this place. You would depend completely on the map, and it’s much more fun for us to see you stumble into different rooms.”

“ So, I’m here for your amusement.”

“ Hades ordered you to be here. We didn’t take you in because we wanted too, Mademoiselle, we took you in because we had to. Do you know what happens to an Earl who defies Hades’s orders?”

“ No.”

“ We are executed.” Said Erik, “ and as you know, Tartarus is closed. As people these days would say it, if we die, game over.”

“ But if everyone has to face death, so do you people!”

Erik shook his head. “ You have no idea what Tartarus is like, do you?”

“ Do you?”

“ There is a reason I do not often immerse myself in the minds of other Earls. I can read minds and do things with them when it comes to mind-control, but because of the Tartarus incident, I generally don't anymore, which is why I am not going with Krista and Dante to the Camp tonight.”

“ You mean, you saw Tartarus?”

“ I did not just see it, I felt what it was like to be in it. One day I was combing through the minds of Earls, it was an election like the one that you partook in. I saw an interesting memory, and I lost myself in the mind of the Earl. I could even feel the memories as he had felt them. It was very intriguing. Then, in his memories, the Earl died. I could not get myself out of the Earl’s mind, and spent hours as he thought about what it had been like in Tartarus. I was stuck in his mind, the equivalent of being stuck in Tartarus, for hours until another Earl touched me to get my attention, and I was able to leave the other Earl’s mind. Turns out, the Earl who’s mind I had been in was asleep, and I had appeared so also because of it. I stayed in it for too long. The Earl who touched me thought something was wrong with me, and I was jubilant when they woke me up. I had never felt such fear.” Erik took a shaky breath and shivered. “ It is horrible to be a monster there. You know you are there forever and that there is no way out. In that way, it becomes even more terrifying. Tartarus is truly my only fear.” I didn’t know what to say to him, so I changed the subject.

“ So, Krista is your girlfriend.”

“ Yes, she is.” Erik said, “ She is a wonderful woman.”

He looked ahead, and things looked a little more familiar to me. Finally, we arrived at a door, and Sebastian opened it before Erik even laid a hand on it. Erik nodded in acknowledgment to Sebastian, and Sebastian nodded in acknowledgment back.

       Ciel looked at me, then back down at the papers. “ Hello Hazel.” Ciel said, and Nico turned to me.

“ Hello Hazel.” Nico said, “ What happened after breakfast?”

“ That Krista girl is odd to me for some reason. I don’t know why.” I said, “ She reads minds.”

“ Yes.” Nico said with a nod, “ she does. So, how were you and Frank doing?”

“ Well, considering I can never see him again.”

“ I see she told you about that.” Ciel said, coming into the conversation.

“ She did.” I said, sighing. “ But I guess I’ll have to get used to this place.”

“ It’s hard to adjust.” Said Nico, “ if you ever do adjust, that is. It’s kind of hard to.”

“ Where’s Soma?” Ciel asked me, “ He should be with you.”

“ I don’t know where Soma is. I haven’t seen him around since breakfast.” I said, “ Why does everyone keep asking?”

“ If you are so new here,” said Sebastian, “ then Lord Soma should be accompanying you until you know your way around. You might get into trouble.”

“ I’m perfectly fine of getting by without any help.” I said, “ I’m not a little kid.”

“ Even if you were an adult,” said Ciel, “ there are always chances that you are going to be captured and killed. Remember, Hazel, you aren’t necessarily in the favor of the Earls. That is more dangerous than you think, and perhaps more dangerous than what Soma thinks.”

“ Or maybe he trusts us.” Said Nico, “ he knows that with you, Sebastian and I, Hazel can’t really get in trouble.”

Sebastian sighed and murmured. “ That can be debated.” Ciel said, and Nico sighed.

“ Just why Ciel?” Nico said, his eyes looking sad. I couldn't shake the feeling I had gotten when I had met Ciel. 

“ Nico, why don’t we go find Soma?” I said, my mind racing. I had something to ask him.

“ Sebastian, go with them.” Ciel said, and the butler nodded.

      I didn’t care if the butler was there, I was going to ask anyways. “ Nico, does Ciel really make you happy? I mean, couples are supposed to be good to each other and love each other. And, between you two, I just don’t see it.”

“ I love Ciel, and I know Ciel loves me back. There are things about us that you can’t understand, Hazel.”

“ Like what?”

“ Look, Hazel. Before you got here, I would spend almost the entire day with Ciel. Now that you’re here, well, I'm not doing that anymore.” Nico said, “ He feels some way about this, and I know it isn’t a good feeling.” I looked back to the butler, Ciel’s butler, the devil butler. He said nothing, but he looked displeased. Nico nodded, and I looked back. The butler’s usual smile wasn't there. Instead, his pale thin lips remained closed in a serious gesture of some emotion that I didn't know-perhaps the emotion wasn't even human.

" Nico, does he," In pointed back at the butler. " Does he serve you too?"   
" Yes."   
" Do you give him orders?"

“ Not as many as Ciel does.” Said Nico, “ but I try not to push him, though. Ciel does demand a lot out of him, so for the most part I try to leave him alone. Just kind of forget he's there, that's what I do most of the time.” From behind us, I heard him sigh. 

“ Hazel!” I was greeted with an unexpected hug by Soma.

“ Oh, hey there!”

“ You won’t believe the crazy day I’m having.” He said, “ I was looking for you everywhere after I was hoping you were safe back at the manor. You had me worried to sickness!” He hugged me tighter and I swore one of my ribs was going to crack.

“ Soma!” I managed, and he let go of me.

“ Sorry.” He said, then looked up at Sebastian and Nico. “ I’ll take it from here you two! After all, I want to show her the city!” He grabbed my hand and dragged me down the swirling hallways. I took one last look at Sebastian and Nico, only to see that they were staring at each other.

***

      “ There’s nothing I can do to make you not relay that entire conversation to Ciel.”

“ Indeed. You defended him, however, and I must say that that was good on your behalf.” Said Sebastian, “ he should be rather pleased with you.” I nodded, and followed him back to the office.

      “ I knew she wouldn’t trust me.” Said Ciel, “ and quite frankly, I don’t trust her either.” I couldn’t say anything to him. “ Both the worlds you’ve encountered vary greatly from each other; that is why they can never coexist. Nothing truly coexists in this world, for it is far to cold and cruel for true coexistence.”

“ I suppose,” I said. “ I fought monsters and almost got killed by more than a share of them. Now that I am one…I can’t help but think what happened.”

“ We cannot change anything now.” Said Ciel, “ once something is lost, it can never return. The thing you lost is your humanity, and now you can never get it back.”

“ At least I have you.” I said, “ I’ll always have you. That’s the thing, you can’t leave me alone.”

“ Nor do I want too.” Said Ciel, “ but I might have to leave for the Underworld.”

“ Why?”

“ A case has arisen in the Underworld, and being the Earl and Watchdog of your Father, I have to find them.” Said Ciel, “ in fact, I’m leaving tonight.”

“ Can I come with you?”

“ No, Nico, it would be an unnecessary placement of you in harm’s way.” Ciel said, “ Besides, you can spend all the time you want with Hazel without having to think about me.”

“ Well, London is a pretty big place, so Soma could want to show her everything and that would take more than a day, right?”

“ You could go with them.”

“ I wouldn’t want to ruin their fun.”

“ You’re Hazel’s brother and she enjoys your company, which would certainly not ruin her fun.”

“ Whatever.”

Sebastian walked over to the window and looked out it. “ It appears we have a guest, Young Master.”

“ Oh? I don’t recall anyone sending a notice they were coming, but then again this must be expected out of them.”

“ No, it isn’t an Earl. It appears to be a god.”

“ A god?”

“ Hermes by the looks of it. I have no idea as to why he would be here.”

“ Why aren’t you getting the door?” I asked, and Sebastian closed the curtains.

“ Because Snake is already on his way to.” Sebastian said, “ I’m sure he can handle getting the door and escorting the god to where he needs to go.”

“ I hope he isn’t here for us,” Ciel said with a sigh.

“ Maybe he’s here for Hazel because Dad is second guessing bringing her.” I said, “ see, Ciel, I knew she wouldn’t be here long.”

“ We don’t know why he’s here yet, Nico.” Said Ciel with a flicker in his eye, “ for all we know, he could be giving us a warning.”

“ Yeah, he could be.”

“ The message could not even be for us.”

“ Also true.” I said, “Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling about it.”


	3. Unexpected Guests

***

      “ Um, hey there.” Said Hermes to the boy standing in the doorway. He had pale skin with random patches of snake scales. Two snakes slithered loosely by his shoulders. Hermes didn’t know exactly what he was, and thinking ahead, he decided it wasn’t that important. He took out George and Martha, who seemed restless in his back pocket.

“ Who are you? Says Poe.”

“ Excuse me?”

“ I am Snake, the Phantomhive servant, says Adams.”

“ Okay, Snake.”

“ Do you have any rats?” Said George, and Snake smiled at the caduceus.

“ Yes, how many do you want?” From his pocket, Snake procured a large matchbox. When he opened it, Hermes saw at least 7 to 10 large, plump, dead rats.

“ Ooh.” Said George, and Hermes looked back up at the servant. “ Two or three would be nice. It’s a long haul from New York to London.”

“ I’ll have one too!” Martha chimed in, “ or three like George.”

The servant nodded and feed both of them four rats which they gladly snatched up and ate, then he fed his two snakes two rats each to finish off the box. All the snakes seemed happy, and that was when Hermes stated his business.

     “ I’m here to speak with Earl Ciel and Nico.” Said Hermes, “ I have a message for them.”

“ Alright, follow us Lord Hermes says Poe.” Said Snake, and he turned. Hermes followed the servant down a foyer, up stairs, and down corridors. To a mortal or demigod, the house would have been confusing. Finally, the servant stopped at a door. He knocked on it, and a demon in official attire opened the door.

        “ Lord Hermes.” The demon bowed, and when he rose, he nodded to Snake. Snake nodded and left, disappearing down another adjacent corridor. The demon in elegant attire, who was apparently the head of the servant staff, let him in.

Lord Phantomhive looked the same as usual, and seemed to have not changed since he had seen him in the Hall of Earls. The Hall of Earls, where Earls of the Underworld gathered to make important jurisdictions such as allowing decisions and vetoing or approving sentences and executions after appropriate trials. On the day he had seen Ciel, he had been at a trail waiting for a certain demon to come out from it. “ Good afternoon, Lord Phantomhive,” Said Hermes remembering to be formal, “ I hope you don’t have any endeavors planned.”

“ Actually, I’m going to the Underworld shortly, so that’s why I sent Nico off.”

“ Nico isn’t here?”

“ No, I thought it would be better if he went with Hazel and Soma so he wouldn’t be tempted to follow me.”

“ That was a smart idea.” Ciel shrugged, “ I suppose you’ll just have to find him in London after this.”

“ I suppose I will.” Said Hermes, “ in truth, I’m looking for Hazel too.”

Ciel nodded, yet he held a smile that sent chills down Hermes’s spine. He didn’t know why, something about the Earl's smile unnerved him. “ Ah yes.” Ciel said with a hint of a pleasant tone in his voice. “ Indeed, I hope it is for the reason I intend.”

***

        “ Ooh! What don’t we go on the London Eye?”

“ That big Ferris wheel?”

“ Yeah!” Soma nodded, “ it’s really fun, you want to go too, Nico?”

“ Sure, if you want too.” I said, and Soma hailed a taxi.

      “ Where to?” Said the driver, and I knew who the driver was.

“ Hello Hermes.” I said, “ We’re going to the London Eye.”

“ Okay.” He said, “ I have a message for you and Hazel.”

“ What is it?” I asked, “ Please tell me it isn’t a quest or something.”

“ Oh please no.” Soma said, “ I don’t know what we would say to the other demigods, honestly. ‘Oh, hey! We just stole two of your best demigods and one of them is a vampire!’ Isn’t that the reason those memories are being wiped out tonight?”

“ It’s not that.” Said Hermes, “ and I agree with you on that one. Nico, Hazel, I hate to say it, but you’re a lot safer with these guys than you were on your own.”

“ Why don’t you do that with your kids then?” Soma asked, and Hermes looked at the steering wheel. “ I thought so.”

“ Look, lycan, I didn’t come here to talk to you. I came to talk to Hazel and Nico.” Said Hermes, “ anyways, this is a message from your Dad. Nico, you’ll be considered missing as will you, Hazel. However, no matter how tempting it will seem and how tempting it will be when they’re close to finding you, you have to follow your protectors’ instructions and not go near them. Hazel, there are things in this world that simply must be. Nico has come to accept this, and it is hard too accept especially when you have nothing to help you do so. He believes it will be hard for you two to not go near them.”

“ That’s it?” I said, and Hermes nodded.

“ You have tickets for the London Eye, Soma?” Hermes asked, and Soma shook his head. Hermes went into his pocket and handed us three tickets. “ Have a good time.”

***

      The London Time was 3:00 AM. In America, it would be 11 PM, the perfect time to erase people’s memories. I thought about this as I shadow-traveled through the tunnel with Alois. I listened to the noises of wailing souls and other objects while holding Alois’s hand. There was no better way to travel if you ask me.

      The Camp was silent, and the campfire’s ashes swirled as though they were acknowledging I and Alois’s presence. I looked at him in the darkness, he looked exceptionally beautiful in the moonlight. I looked around, seeing Poseidon's cabin. I looked at Alois to acknowledge that I wished to erase Percy's memories first, to which he smiled and nodded. Percy Jackson looked very hot and sexy asleep, and apparently, Alois agreed, because he nodded when I thought to him that. He drooled a little bit, but other than that, he truly did look like a god in the moonlight. However, that wasn’t the reason I was there. I went into his mind and found the memories. His raw and bitter anger towards Ciel, his pain at seeing Nico was dead, his wondering of whether or not that was true, his anger when Hazel disappeared, even his mere memory of meeting Ciel, and all of the confusion. I erased it all. Everything was erased. When it was done, I looked a bit in his mind, perhaps for a little longer than I would have liked. His mind was so intriguing, so beckoning. I couldn't help but look at it. When I faded back into my own mind and back into reality, I looked at Alois, who was staring at me. He hadn’t stopped smiling, and together we waltzed out of the Poseidon cabin quieter than mice.

     Krista had come alone, as well as a few Earls with the same capabilities as ours. We wiped the entire Camp of the memories of Ciel and the message of what happened to Nico as well as any information gathered about Earls except for a few harmless hints that didn’t mean anything. I saw his funeral pyre in their minds-it was lovely. Rumors and suspicions are one thing, but truth is another. Therefore, we left rumors and suspicions alone.

      After the event was over, I was rather tired. It was 5 AM, so we had to hurry up and leave. Alois’s mind certainly hadn’t been silent, we’d talked via thought the entire time. We shadow-traveled home where it was 10 AM. Claude offered to make breakfast, but I declined the offer because I was so damn tired. I hadn’t felt tired when I was using my mind, and I wondered if that was why L had insomnia. Probably not, it was probably just my powers. So, I laid down and went to sleep for a very, very long time.

***

    I sat with Hazel in a room. It was a nice room with a stained glass ceiling and a few chairs. It had a flat screen TV and a few bookshelves, so I guessed it was a sitting room of some sort. “ So, we’re missing now?” Said Hazel, and I nodded.

“ Yeah.” I said, “ Well, you were always missing. I was dead, and now I’m just considered missing. But considering how long we’ve been gone, people probably think we’re dead.”

“ Octavian probably has convinced half of Camp Jupiter.”

“ Oh, I almost forgot about that bastard. I look back at it and think how friggin annoying he was.”

“ Yeah.” Hazel said, “ But I am going to miss Frank.” She looked sad, and I put my hand on her shoulder.

“ I know.” I said, “ It’s going to be okay.”

“ No it’s not.” Said Hazel, “ no, Nico, it’s really not.”

“ Okay, fine. So, maybe it isn’t.” I knew at that time I had to be careful with my words. I hadn't thought it would hurt her that much...before, the thought of her and Frank separated didn't bother me, but now it did. “ Hazel,” I said quietly, “ am I really worth this much to you that you’d leave him and everything behind?” I could tell she didn’t know. That was okay, because I really didn’t want the answer to that question, having a feeling the answer would be no. She didn’t belong to my new world, not yet and maybe not ever. I could see there was only one way to make her a part of it. “ I wonder why Dad hasn’t ordered you to be turned into some sort of monster yet.”

“ I beg your pardon?”

“ That’s really the only way I really adjusted, that and Ciel was there. I think Ciel was a big part of that too.” I said, “ I guess it’s my turn to do the same thing, but I really don’t know if I can. You would have been better off with Frank, Hazel.”

“ No I wouldn’t. The thought of your death and how you died would have tormented me long after I grew old. The nightmares just wouldn’t stop, and I would be in pain. This is saving me from that, even if I miss Frank. Though, which pain would have been and is worse I can’t decide.” Said Hazel, “ I just don’t know, Nico. I don’t know if my heart could break anymore than it is.” She looked like she was going to cry, and I knew I could say nothing to comfort her. “ You should go, Ciel will be worried.”

“ Ciel’s in the Underworld-”

“ I need to be alone, alright?”

“ Okay.” I said, and I left her in the room, the stained glass ceiling pouring multicolored light on her.

      I went to L. I didn’t know why, but I did. He was doing his usual, sitting on his swivel chair and eating a piece of cake, “ Hey.” I said, sitting in a chair close to him.

“ Don’t be too hurt, Nico. People say stuff like that when they’re in pain. Look, she’s crying now.” L said, but I looked down at my folded hands. When I looked up again, L was staring at me. “ I’m sorry.”

“ For what, you didn’t do anything.”

“ Just because I think you need an apology from someone.” Said L, “ and so I decided to give you one.”

“ Um, thanks.” I said, “ It’s not your fault after all. It’s our Dad’s.” He smiled and looked down at the screen. “ Why are you smiling?”

“ You said our. He’s your Dad and mine, so that means you think of me as a brother.”

“ Why wouldn’t I?”

“ I’m weird, I’m awkward, I sit in a room all day basically stalking people on these computers, my name is a letter, I don’t eat normal healthy foods, I’m a vampire, I’m older, and I barely talk to you.”

“ Yeah, you are quirky, but that doesn’t make me hate you. We are family, after all.” I said, “ You’re a good older brother.”

“ And you’re a good comforting brother.” Said L with a nod.

***

        I walked soundlessly through the woods. I was close to Tartarus, I could sense it in the distance. Calling me, wanting me for eternity. Sebastian was behind me. I did not fear. The demon was close, I could sense them. They were running closer and closer to Tartarus, and I wondered for a moment if they were going to try to throw Sebastian and me in. “ Master.” Sebastian said as he ran beside me, “ they’re getting closer too-”

“ Yes, Sebastian, I know. I’m not letting it stop me!”

“ Yes, my Lord.” He said, and we continued to follow the demons.

         The forest line of skeletal gray trees broke to a dark hole. The demon walked around it. “ Halt.” I said, but it was too late. He kicked off some rocks on the edge and jumped in. I went to the edge of the pit and watched him fade into the darkness. I scoffed at him. “ Weakling.”

“ Indeed.” Said Sebastian, though I edged away from him. “ What is it, Master?”

“ I don’t trust you, not here.” I said, “ You may be a butler and demon who lives by their word, however, after all of these years it would be so convenient to just to push me into the pit and be done with this life. Nico was foolish enough to give you a taste of freedom. I know once something wants freedom it will get it by every means necessary. Just look at that demon. He gave up eternity just to be free of imprisonment for eternity, which would have been much nicer. However, he would not be free.” I had inched around half the circumference of the pit, and Sebastian stood on the other side, smiling at me. I looked into the darkness of the pit. It was almost intoxicating, beckoning me to jump. But I didn’t.

“ Master,” said Sebastian, “ I would not kill you; you are far too interesting of a demon to do that. Now come, let’s go home shall we? I think we’ve both had enough of this nonsense for one day.”

“ Indeed,” I said as I disappeared and appeared back in the mansion. That was a quicker way of transportation than shadow traveling, but there were some skills that differed greatly when it came to demons and vampires. Because of this, I never bothered to try it around Nico.

      “ Go get Nico.” I told Sebastian, “ and some tea.”

“ Well, Master, which would you like first?”

“ Nico.”

“ I’ll go get him then.”

“ Hey Ciel.” Said Nico, sitting in a chair before me. He looked more downtrodden than usual. “ If you’re wondering, I’m just sad because of Hazel, that’s all.” He looked downwards, his pure black hair obscuring his black eyes and pale face a bit. “ You know, Ciel, I’m beginning to think perhaps it would be better if we just returned her to the Camp.”

“ You know that we can’t do that.” I said, and he looked up at me. His eyes were closed, and he sighed.

“ But she’s in such pain Ciel.” He leaned forward and put his head in his hands. “ I don’t know what to do. I don’t want her to be in pain, that’s why I saved her in the first place.”

“ There is only one thing we can do.”

“ And we can’t do that. I can’t make Hazel into a vampire, and I won’t let you make her into a demon.”

“ I suppose she’ll just have to live with it then, just as you did.”

Sebastian came back in the room with the tea. “ Would you like a cup also, Master?” He asked Nico, and Nico nodded.

“ Yes, tea,” He said weakly.

       He carried on the day in a similar fashion. I did not see Hazel, and perhaps that was a beneficial for the both of us. At dinner, Nico was silent no matter how much Dante coaxed him to speak. Dante gave up and talked to L. Neither Hazel nor Soma was at the table.

***

      “ I wonder if Soma and Hazel are dead.” Delilah said as she followed me around the hallways. I didn’t know why, probably to escape Madame Giry.

“ I do too.” I said, “ at least I said it to someone. Anyways, any news from the baker boy?”

“ Yeah, he sent be a loaf of bread a few days ago with this note.” Said Delilah, “ anyways, he’s kind of cute-”

“ Looks like you have a crush on someone.” I said and she blushed.

“ I do not!” She said but I chuckled and shook my head.

“ Love is a mysterious thing.” I said shrugging, “ but I’d say go for it. He already has a job and he makes you your favorite food! Sounds good enough to me.”

“ Okay so maybe I do like him.” Said Delilah, “ a lot. But whatever.”

“ He sends you food and notes. It sounds like he likes you back.”

“ I know, but how do I go about talking about that kind of stuff?!”

“ Delilah, you are asking the man who stalked his first crush through a double-sided mirror and almost killed her lover.”

She squinted at me. “ Just when you start to seem normal.”

“ Music has always worked for me.” I said, “ Find your talent-ah! I know! Why don’t you make him cookies or something and deliver them to his house. That would be cute, especially after all the times he‘s faked out the butlers by ringing the doorbell and ditching the bread for you. It’s a good thing they’re not short tempered.” The doorbell went off almost on cue. “ I wonder who that could be.”

She shrugged, “ he doesn’t drop off bread more than once a week.”

“ Then it is someone else.” I said, “ Let’s go check it out, shall we?”

She nodded, “ I guess so.”


	4. Nightmares

***

     The doorbell rung and I scoffed. I was not in the mood for Delilah’s crush’s shenanigans, and it was getting late. I opened the door to see that there was only a note on the doorstep. I picked it up and looked around outside. There was no one there, which was rather curious considering very few people could leave that quickly. When I turned, Delilah and Erik stood behind me. Having a feeling it was a note from her love interest; I gave the note to Delilah. “He could have at least stayed.” I said as she tore open the envelope.

“Um, Mister Sebastian, this isn’t a letter for me.” Said Delilah, and I and Erik shot glances at each other.

“Then who’s it for?” Erik asked before I could.

“It’s really general.” Said Delilah, “it just says ‘they are coming.’”

“Give it here, Delilah.” I said, and she handed me the note. The letter was in messy scrawl with the inscription she had said. I snickered, “how intriguing.”

***

      I couldn’t sleep. I was shaky and my mind was racing; my nightmares were vivid and haunting. Each time I closed my eyes I would quickly drift off and each nightmare was worse. I felt horrible and sick as well as afraid. I hadn’t been afraid for a very, very long time. Finally I just went down the hall and into Ciel’s room.

      He was asleep obviously because the curtains on his bed were drawn; oddly, I had a feeling with him, things wouldn’t be so bad when I was sleeping. When I had first gotten to the house, sleeping with him when I had nightmares was acceptable, though things had changed and I didn't know why. I drew the curtains and crawled under the familiar black covers. Ciel was cute when he was asleep. I shook his shoulder to wake him up. “What, Nico?”

“I’m having a bad night.” I said, “I’m feeling sick because of all these nightmares.”

“Tell me about them.” Ciel turned to me, his glance going from irritated to soft.

“A lot had Tartarus in them.” I said, “I nearly felt like I was going insane again. Some had Percy, Annabeth, even a few with Bianca. They were bad, Ciel. There were even a few with you, Dante, L, Hazel, the list goes on. They were dreams I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy had they cared about the same people I did.”

Ciel sighed and curled up against me. “We can’t change them now.” Said Ciel, “something is angered, Nico. Perhaps it will calm down soon.” I held him tightly up against me and I closed my eyes. I didn’t have any trouble sleeping for the rest of the night, and I had only pleasant dreams.

***

        The nightmares were like hell. They were horrible, and concerned everyone I knew and loved. They were torturous until the point where I felt physical pain. Shaky and nauseous, I climbed out of my sickly warm bed in my nightgown. The wood floor felt soft and polished, and the rugs even nicer. There was a candelabrum on my dresser with candles. Below it was matches. In the pure darkness, I took a match. I lit it, and then the candles on the candelabra. They smelled of citrus and sage, but calmed me down a little. I tried to sleep with it lit, but a nightmare hit so I woke up again. There was only one person I could see about this. I took the candelabra and went into the corridors.

        The corridors were menacing, and at the time they did not help my nerves. I had no idea where I was going, but somewhere in the distance I heard music. It was like an angel playing. I followed it, going down a floor or too. That was when I heard the soft sound of slight snoring. I opened a door to find myself in a dark, wine colored room. On a bed slept Soma, the person who I wanted to find.

          I shook him awake. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. He looked me up and down before asking, “Why are you up?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” I said, “I was having horrible hellish nightmares.”

Soma shrugged, “well, I wish that I could answer your questions. I’m sorry, though, if it makes up feel better you can sleep in this room." He got up and got some blankets from the closet. He laid them on a long chaise lounge chair. I laid on the couch and put the blankets over me. He went back to sleep, and I didn’t dream anything for the rest of the night.

***

 

       It took me a while to realize one, that I had fallen asleep and two, I was alone. The nightmare woke me up of course, but until then I had thought it was real and that I’d been teleported somewhere because I am an insomniac. I don’t sleep, so I was surprised at myself. Anyways, as soon as reality set in again, there was a sense of relief as well as a strange sense of fear. I deducted the nightmare and some unseen force brought on sudden sleep, however, I couldn’t shake the sick feeling that I was having. I turned on a recording, one which I had turned on a million times.

        Even though Light killed me, I still loved him until he died. You would think that his voice would bring me anger and make me feel even worse, but actually, it did the opposite. It might sound weird, but I loved him even though he killed me. Yes, I am odd like that. So, I turned on a recording I had made of Light’s voice. I thought about him, wishing things were different. They always say not to do that, but when you figure out your boyfriend was as messed up on the inside as Light was, you do wish things were different, and I believe that’s perfectly acceptable. My feelings about him were mixed up and confused. I missed him, yet I refused to bring him back. I wanted to stop him, but in order to not cause major holes in the world of logic, I did not. I wanted to bring him back, but I refused to bring him back. I wanted to be angry, but I couldn’t be angry. I wanted to bang my head against the table crying and hating him, but I wanted to bang my head against the table crying and wishing he was there with everything. I couldn’t do either. The voice of Kira, the one thing I had died trying to stop, calmed me down. After a while, I turned the recording off, and scoped around the internet. I didn’t sleep for the rest of the night, which was calming and normal.

***

      The nightmares were bad, even for me. I felt a bit shaky when I got up from the bed, and walked around my room for a little while. I felt something had created the nightmare, and came back at it in telepathy. I attacked it ruthlessly, and it cowered away in fear. I sensed it had also attacked my siblings, and that was inexcusable. I killed it. I had not idea what it was, but I wasn’t going to let it mess with us. No one hurt my siblings, not while I was around. After that, I laid back down in bed and went to sleep, having good dreams the rest of the night.

***

       The five earls looked at each other but did not say a word. It was Ciel that decided a secretive meeting between the five, and as secretly as the meeting itself, the five Earls had thought it was necessary for them to meet. The silence broke with the melodic and formal voice of Erik. “They’ve been attacked.”

“Yes,” Alois said, “Dante killed them, however.”

“I cannot fully commemorate him on that act. It could have made the force even more angered than it already was.” Said Ciel as Sebastian began to pour the tea.

“Whatever.” Said Alois, “he did what was necessary.”

“I think it would be safe to assume that there will be more attacks.” Said Erik, “so the best thing we can do is prevent them.”

“Strengthen the gates.” Said Ciel, “the password is weak and we need to strengthen the wards.”

“Sounds like a reasonable course of action.” Erik agreed, “We shouldn’t bring them into London anymore-that attracts attention.”

“Wait.” Said Alois, “what about the Halloween Ball?”

“We should still have it.” Said Soma, “seeing the true behavior of them might coax a few Earls into helping us. And, they'll know something is up with us if we don't host it.”

“I agree and disagree.” Said Luka, “what Soma said is true, but what if they don’t win them over? Especially Hazel, nothing derogatory towards her but she’s still new here. She’s not used to monsters and she isn’t one herself. She might snap.”

“ I have faith in her.” Said Soma, “she has a level-head and she’s not stupid.”

“Indeed, she is. However, in a room of demons that seem to be terrorizing you, isn’t the natural instinct to pull out a knife?” Alois said, “That’s mine, but hey, I am a demon so.”

“But she’ll know the difference, she has too.” Said Soma, “or at least I think she does.”

“Thinking isn’t good enough in this case, Soma.” Said Ciel, “she has to know.”

“But I can’t force her too!”

“See, that’s the problem.”

Erik sighed as Soma began to bicker about an argument point he truly didn’t know the slightest on. Also, the argument seemed to be three against one, and Soma was getting more and more annoyed. Erik stood and smacked his hand on the table. “Enough.” Erik said, “Enough you three!” They did silence, after all, Erik wasn’t one to go up against, and also he was older than all of them by over 30 years. “We should have the dance.”

“No!”

“Yes!”

He sighed again. “Soma, you’ll just have to stay with Hazel to make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble. That’s a sacrifice on your part, because no doubt it will be very boring watching her the entire time. However, you’re not a child, in fact, you older than a man despite the fact you look in your late teenage years. I believe you can handle responsibilities.” Soma gave a short nod.

“See? Erik agrees with me!”

“ Soma, I’m not finished yet.” Said Erik, “if she does cause trouble which I’m certain she will, you merely have the will-power of a person your age and lock her in her room or something along those lines. I don’t care how you do it, but just get her out of there once she threatens a blade. If you don’t do it, someone else will have too. All I know is all hell will break loose if we let her stab anyone.”

“ Wait a second!” Said Alois, “why don’t we just lock her in a room for the entire party? She can’t cause any trouble locked up, maybe we can lock her in with L so she won’t think anything of it. He’ll see the dance from his screens; he already said he wasn’t coming down.” Erik shifted uneasily.

“It’s not a bad idea.”

“No, it isn’t.” Said Erik, “I think I can deal with this resolution-after all, L is my responsibility.”

“It’s settled then?” Alois clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

Soma nodded and Ciel gave a begrudging yes. With that, the meeting adjourned.

***

      “Percy!” Annabeth came towards me, looking a little worried. “Someone’s dead.”

“Who?”

“You know that kid from the Morpheus cabin that went on a quest last week?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s the one.”

“Oh. How’d he die?” Kids died on quests all the time, I knew that. I felt a little sad, but really I didn’t know him that much.

“Well, you know he had those creepy mind powers?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, somewhere in Britain he started acting really weird. A night or two ago he just zoned out after saying ‘they need to pay’, and he never woke up.” Said Annabeth, “They don’t know what killed him. Some of the other kids think maybe he was messing with the wrong person.”

“ That’s kind of scary.” I said, “To know that people can kill you like that.”

Annabeth nodded, “they’re burning his pyre tonight, and Chiron already gave him the final rights.”

“Okay.” I said, “Did he say anything other than the stuff about someone paying for something?”

“No.” Said Annabeth, “They say he just kind of faded out then he had a dead look in his eyes. They checked his pulse and he was dead.”

“ Wow, that is kind of scary. Do we have any idea what did it?”

“ No.” Said Annabeth, “They said there are actually a lot of monsters in England, Percy.”

“Can you tell me why they were even in England?”

“Some stone or something.” Said Annabeth, “I don’t know, but they’re not going there again.”

I nodded, “yeah, I think that’s be a wise decision.”

***

“It’s October 30th.” I told Erik as he walked into the room. “Tomorrow is the dance, which I will occupy Hazel during.”

“You could tell her about the BB character.” Said Erik, “remember? One of your Wammy boys gone wrong.” I sighed; I didn’t want to be reminded of BB. Try being reminded of one of your brothers (if you have a brother) who did something and got themselves in jail, then who died there. That feeling was why I didn’t want to talk about BB, and why I probably shouldn’t have told Erik three days before that. What made it worse was I was the person who got the evidence to jail him with. 

“ No, I will not talk about Beyond.”

Erik sat there, thinking. Unintentionally he usually had a certain pose when doing so, and I think part of that was because he face could not be seen. His legs were crossed and he leaned back into the chair, and he held his chin in between his forefinger and thumb. His arm rested partially on his leg, and his eyes seemed a little distant. “ I’m thinking about conversation topics. Don’t mention Nico unless she does because he’s downstairs. Remember, we’re trying to make her unaware of the fact the door is locked for as long as possible.”

“ I really don’t want to get in a fight with her.”

“ Yeah, nor would I.”

“ No, I don’t mean it like that. It’s just, I’m trying to be a good older brother.”

“ You’re not doing a terrible job.” Erik straightened into his usual sitting position and looked at the cameras. “ You keep them out of trouble by watching them and making sure nothing arises.”

“ Yes, Erik, but if something did…what if it was too late?”

“ You wouldn’t be.”

“ How would you know?”

“ L, you’re infallible. The computers will show you a threat before it’s even established.”

“ Perhaps, but that’s humans. What about monsters?”

“ We’ll sense them.”

“ Perhaps I am just being paranoid.”

“ Maybe.” Said Erik, “ We never know what will happen in the future. Who knows, perhaps your paranoia is valid.” I nodded, even though I hoped that he was wrong.

“ Maybe.” I said, “ But I guess we’ll just see tomorrow.”

***

     I paid no mind to the tension at the dinner table. “ I’m excited for the Halloween Ball tomorrow!” I said, it would be fun. I could rub it in their faces how cute of a boyfriend I had and that I got the son of Hades in general. Yes, that would be a reaction worthy of my time. I smiled thinking about their reactions.

“ So am I.” Said Dante, “ what are the other Earls like?”

“ You’ll see, after all I have an intent of flaunting you like a diamond ring.”

“ Aww…that’s really cute, you know, that you want to flaunt me. I would flaunt you if I had anyone to flaunt you too.”

“ You’re so sweet sometimes.” The silence pervaded for a while longer after that. I hated silence…it seemed like it was so final, a preview to the end. I hated it. “ Has that band agreed to play again?”

“ Not sense Earl Calvin crashed through the ceiling.” Said Erik, “ why must he always make such an entrance? It’s a mess to clean up.”

“ Earl Calvin is fun!” I protested, and true, the man knew how to make an entrance and be the social highlight to the evening. But not this dance. No, the sons of Hades would be the stars, and that included my Dante. I usually made a statement of my own at dances, and Dante would be my statement that time. I couldn’t think of anything better. “ Whatever. He’s not coming and so you will be the spotlights.”

“ Yes, Nico.” Dante said with a smile, “ if you get sick of the Earls think of my name and I’ll bail you out so you can leave the area.”

“ Um, thanks.” Said Nico, “ and may I ask why you were reading my mind?”

“ Well, I’m just making sure you people are okay. I mean, with all the nightmares last night, I want to make sure whatever I killed didn’t do any lasting thing.”

“ You killed something?” Hazel raised an eyebrow.

“ It wouldn’t have left you alone. I killed a problem before it started, my like pulling a vine out while it's still young and barely has any roots.”

“ Dante, do you even know what it was?”

“ Nope. It’s messing with my family.” His eyes turned darker. “ No one messes with my family.”

There was more silence, even though he was right. I knew that no one was going to stand in his way, he wouldn’t let them. He had wanted a family after his Mother was killed, and with them, Luka, and me, he had a family. He wasn‘t going to let anyone take that away from him.


	5. The Halloween Ball-Part 1

***October 31 7:00

       I watched on my cameras as the first few guests entered. Hazel came in, and the door locked behind her-unbeknownst to her-by Erik. “Uh, hey L.” She said, sitting down. “I came.”

“I wanted to talk to you.” I said, looking at the guests. Dante instantly became the more social one, greeting the people as they walked in and answering the Earl’s starting prompts of conversation. Whether Dante forced it or not, the Earls and Countesses smiled as he walked away.

“There are lady earls?”

“ Yes, they go by the title of Countesses of the Underworld, even though when they talk about Earls in general they don’t say ‘Earls’ and Countesses’ they just say ‘Earls,” not because the ladies have a less equal title but because by a favored vote it was easier to say.” I said, “You don’t really want to go down there either.” She nodded. “Yeah, I know that feeling. I would and still will think 'what’s the use of socializing when the people around you won’t like you?' I don’t know, I just don’t want to try.”

“ It’s not that I think that. It’s just you seem really lonely and sad, and considering there is a high chance of me possibly being murdered I don’t think I should leave.” Hazel said, and then she looked around the room.

“This is mostly what I know. Watching people, looking for details, and figuring out things. I solved murder cases by doing just that; watching and making observations.”

“ So, you can figure out a book by its cover?”

“ No. I take the book, examine the cover with a microscope and every single page the same way. Then, I can give you a detailed summary of the book as well as a conclusion. Of course, this is speaking theoretically, right?” I said, “ Because I don’t read books like that.” She laughed and nodded.

“ I can imagine that you’d read a lot.”

“ When everyone’s asleep it’s nice to read.” I said, “ it’s nice at night on average. That night, that was hell though. It taunted me with the thought of someone I loved coming back, but I also don’t want them to come back.”

“ How’s that?”

“ My previous-” the word “previous” hurt. “ Light Yagami. You see, Hazel, there are many ways you can exit this world as well as many things that can lead you to said exit. One way is by the grim reapers, and there are two different kinds of grim reaper. There is one like Grell Sutcliff, and another like a Shinigami-”

“ What?”

“ Sorry, it’s basically the Japanese word for Death God. Well, anyways, these grim reapers lead people into the other world by writing their name in a notebook called the Death Note. Once it is written there, the human dies.”

“ Does it run out of pages, what happens then?”

“ No, the pages never ever run out because it’s a magical notebook. Well, sometimes these notebooks get in the hands of humans. My boyfriend was one of those humans who got the Death Note in his possession. He had the image of the perfect world in his mind, and went insane trying to get it that way. It was a world without crime, without wasted talent, etc. He killed people to accomplish this goal, and being a detective, I was sent to figure out why people were dying and who was doing it. I never did. I died because of him, actually.”

“ That’s sad.”

“ It’s messed up.” I said, “ What were your dreams about, Hazel?”

“ I still don’t want to talk about them.”

“ I know they had something to do with Frank, and I know that much.”

“ You would be mostly right.”

“ It’s hard to be away from the one you love. Trust me, I know.” I said, “ You’re probably not going to get over it. I never did, after all. Still have a few files I saved with him on here.”

“ Could I see them?”

“ Sure.” I said, pulling up one. It was a video during the Kira investigation. I pointed to Light, “ That’s him.”

“ He’s handsome. Who’s that girl?”

“ His girlfriend, Misa.”

“ Did she know about you two?”

“ No, he was using her to get answers and she was bait. He faked his love for her I think. Either that or that’s what I tell myself to make myself feel better.”

“ Okay.” Said Hazel, “ They’re speaking Japanese, right?”

I nodded. “ Light knew English I think.”

“ How did he die?”

“ His time with the Death Note came up. You see, when a human gets the Death Note, their lifetime is decreased by half. Light died when his time was up-that and he was shot multiple times by that guy, Matsuda." I pointed at Matsuda. " When I think back to it, at the age he died, he wouldn’t have had a long life anyways. If that was half of his life, the other half wouldn’t have made him too old if his lifespan had not been decreased.” 

“ Do you ever think about bringing him back?”

“ Hazel, I worked and died trying to stop him. If I brought him back, I know he would slip into his old habits. And this time around I would know, and it would hurt me a lot knowing I couldn’t stop him. Of course I would still love him and I would be happy, but it’s one of those things that remains really confused in my mind.”

“ That is pretty confusing.” Said Hazel, “ Do you think he will come back?”

“ No, there’s not a chance.” I said, “ We’d both be really confused if that did happen.”

“ And then you’d have to stop him again.” Said Hazel, and I nodded.

“ Yeah, that would be horrible. Probably not for him, but-”

“ That would torture you.” Said Hazel, “ well, for your sake, I hope he doesn’t come back.”

“ What brought that up?”

“ Well, you being a vampire, I thought that-”

“ Who told you?”

“ Soma.”

“ Okay.”

“ I thought that you would bring him back.”

“ Erik already asked. I will always say no, Hazel.”

“ Okay.”

“ Why?”

“ Why what?”

“ Why would you ask that?”

“ I don’t know, it crossed my mind. When they miss something a lot, people either work hard to make sure it comes back or to make sure the thing that took it away never comes back.”

“ That is true.” I said, “ I really haven’t done that though.”

“ Sure you do.” Said Hazel, “ You still solve cases?”

“ Yes, but that’s for enjoyment. Perhaps in my subconscious I want my successor to find me. I don’t know.”

“ Successor?”

“ I was the leader of the group of detectives at Wammy. My successors who would take my place were first choice, Near, and second choice, Mello. I wish Near would find me sometimes, but at the same time I don’t.” I didn't want to say Mello was dead-it hurt too much to say he was dead. 

“ They were your friends?”

“ Matt too, he helped Mello, and Beyond before he turned psycho and did all that bad stuff. No, I raised Near, Matt, and Mello. They weren’t just my friends, they were like my kids. Beyond was like an older brother.” I couldn't bring myself to mention A, I didn't want to talk about A. 

“ And, you just had to leave them?”

“ Basically.”

“ You should get in touch with them.”

“ Three are dead. I don’t know about Near, but I hope he still is living.”

“ I do too, for your sake anyways. You seem like a person who’s gotten hurt a lot by death.”

“Yeah.” I said, “ the irony is that I’m the son of Hades. I never guessed that, again my logical explanations never would have leaded me to believe any of this. But now that I’m a vampire I know that this is true. It’s still kind of surreal really. I lived my whole life believing in logic and now I’m living in a world without logic or where logic doesn‘t apply. I don’t know anymore, Hazel, I never think I did.”

“ L, stop talking like that.”

“ Why? Give me a good reason.”

“ You just said it yourself that sometimes in this world logic doesn’t apply, so, snap out of it.”

“ Nice try, little sister.”

She sighed, “ you don’t give into things easily, do you L, even when they hurt you?”

“ Sometimes the most painful thing is the truth.” I said, “ I have to accept the truth of what is and what was. That’s a part of being a detective after all. You have to accept the truth in order to adapt to details and catch the criminal. Maybe I wasn’t able to catch Kira because I knew it was Light and subconsciously my feelings stopped me from believing it was him. That will never happen again, or at least I hope it won’t. But hope is a funny thing, isn’t it, Hazel?”

“ Yeah, it is.” She said, “ you hope for the best always, and sometimes you get what your hope wanted you to, and at other times you get the exact opposite.”

***

         We stayed in silence for a while after that. I suppose there were things we wanted to say that we couldn’t bring ourselves to say, so that is why the silence was there. “ You can’t leave.” L said, even though I wasn’t moving.

“ Why?”

“ You’re locked in here with me. This is because Earls are scared that if you go down to the dance when an Earl upsets you, you’ll kill them.”

“ They honestly think I’m that dumb?”

“ No, they’re just precautious if not overly so.” L said, “ hey, you could be locked in your room alone, but they saw I wasn’t going down for the dance, so they decided I was trustworthy enough to sort of baby-sit you.”

“ You’re not going down because of the cameras, right?”

“ Yes, I can watch the people up here and I’m kind of paranoid of them.”

“ Why, are they after us? They were after me, not you.”

“ True, but I still don’t trust them, especially after some of the things that Erik told me about them.”

“ Like what?”

“ Nothing really. Just stories, a few rumors about some of them that used to go around. I don’t know, he just tells me interesting stuff like that.” L shrugged, “ I think he gets bored sometimes, even though-” L stopped himself.

“ Even though what?”

He had to say it now. “ You remember when you first saw Erik, right?”

“ Yeah, he was yelling at the other Earls for being idiots in their voting because the gods would kill them if they killed us.”

“ Yes, well that’s kind of Erik’s job.”

“ Pardon?”

“ Certain Earls have more than just one job. Erik has the title of the ‘Slayer of Slayers.’”

“ Please tell me that’s metaphorical.”

“ Nope. You see, Hazel, some Slayers go over-board. They’re worse to the monsters sometimes than the actual monster. It’s kind of like a very abusive prison warden versus his or her inmates. Think about it, what happens when the prison warden goes too far?”

“ The inmates rebel.”

“ Yes, and Erik is the monsters’ way of rebellion. He and Delilah kill slayers who go over-board, sort of maintaining the balance between monster and humans. They’re not just random slayers either. They get a special warrant by Hades, and sometimes they even target Earls because the minor demons and monsters just aren’t good enough. One even went after Hades himself.”

“ Erik and Delilah stop them?”

“ Yeah.”

“ I have a feeling I’ve heard this before.”

“ You might have.” L said, “ I’m just happy you aren’t reacting like I thought you would.”

“ That’s because I know people can be worse than monsters.” I said, looking him up and down. “ I don’t know why anyone would want to kill someone like you just for being something that you couldn’t stop becoming. It’s not your fault that you’re a vampire, after all.” To me, L seemed kind of harmless. True, his appearance would tell any normally thinking person otherwise, but once you spoke to him, he didn't seem evil. He almost seemed human really. 

“ Oh Hazel, you have no idea.” L said, “ no idea at all.”

“ I will never have any idea.” I said, “ because I won’t ever be a vampire. I wouldn’t want that type of life.”

“ I don’t think you would either. I could see you being a werewolf though.”

“ Speaking of which, when is the next full moon?”

“ November 17th, it’s sad because no one really noticed his absence the last time.”

“ You did, though, right?”

***

“ Yeah, of course I did. I saw him leave. I have no idea where him and Agni go, and didn’t bother to find out.” I said, and Hazel looked down. “ Why did you really ask that question, Hazel? Are you planning on escaping here that night?”

“ No.” She said but as a skilled detective I knew she was lying.

“ Hazel.” I said, “ they’ll find you before you’re even five steps away.”

“ Don’t rat on me, L.”

“ I won’t, but Hazel, you’ll have demons looking for you. It‘ll take them at most three days to find you; though, what if Hades gets angry?”

“ Pluto, L. My Dad is Pluto.”

“ It won’t matter if he gets angry.”

“ I still think I’ll be okay-they won‘t find me. I have my ways.”

“ And you intend on going back to the Camp.”

“ Well, yeah.”

“ They’ll still find you and hunt you down there.”

“ Have you ever even tried to escape this place, L?”

“ No, actually, I was kind of happy about coming here.” I said, “ we have the opinions of a monster and a demigod, Hazel, remember that.”

“ You just seem so human sometimes.”

“ I never noticed. I just act like I did when I was human with a few changes on my emotions towards people in the past. I don’t see any reasons for me to change, because I was already a monster.”

“ If you’re acting like you were in your human years, L, you don’t seem like a monster.”

“ Oh, Hazel, but I am.”

“ That’s obvious in different ways.” Said Hazel, her eyes focusing on the screens. “ You’re not like them.”

“ How?”

“ You’re not trying to kill me, you don't lie...you're honest.”

“ Yes, of course I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“ There we go, that annihilates the personality of over 60% of the monsters I met.”

“ Hazel, I am a monster that-”

    There was a knock on the door. Seeing it was Erik, I let him in. “ They wish to see you, L, you and Hazel.”

“ What? But that’s-”

He raised his hand as an indication for me to stop my protestations. “ They won’t take no for an answer.” Erik said, “ I’m afraid the both of you will be expected to make an appearance in 20 minutes. L, get on a suit. This is a formal gathering after all. Hazel, there is a dress in your room as well.” Erik said, and disappeared. Hazel looked a little confused.

“Yeah,” I said, “he does that. I think it fits the whole 'phantom' thing.”

“ Okay then.” Hazel left, and I went to my wardrobe and got out the suit that had oddly appeared there.

 _Well then,_ I thought as I walked over to the door and closed it. _This is going to be interesting._


	6. The Halloween Ball-Part 2

***

      The Earls staring coming in, one by one, but then by more. Dante quickly began to walk up to them. He told them his name, and then answered a few questions they asked. Very basic things really, like “did you know Percy Jackson” and “have you ever drank blood?” Then the first few came over to me. “Your Nico right?” One of the Countesses asked me.

“Yes.” I said, feeling a little crowded as a few more Earls and Countesses flocked me. The attention that Dante loved, as I quickly found, wasn’t my cup of tea.

“You had a crush on that Jackson boy, correct?” Another Earl said, almost with a snicker in his voice.

“It was a long time ago.” I said, not denying it. As Ciel had instructed, I made a question response oblique.

“Good.” Responded a Countess with a crackly voice that sounded like paper going through a shredder, “You were never meant to be with him anyways. Personally, I find relationships between demigods disgusting. It’s like dating your cousin, and that’s weird. I always deplored it, really, even when it was a fad amongst human royalties.” She was calling Percy and Annabeth disgusting, as well as my past feelings for Percy. I couldn’t help but feel a little insulted, but I kept a straight face through it. It wasn’t even true after all, the blood that connected demigods was god blood; it didn’t count because it was different from human blood, mainly because god blood was the equivalent to non-existent blood when it came to genes and stuff like that. “Besides, he was a son of Poseidon, a son of the light. You, dear boy, are a son of Hades, a son of darkness. You were not meant to be mixed. Being a lover of a demon, now, that’s suitable.” I turned to her. Her appearance surprised me. I was suspecting a short, toady woman with a long nose like those Halloween witches. However, this woman was like a model. She was about 6 feet tall, wore a black dress that was form fitting, and had a very fine chiseled face with whitish blonde hair. Her ears were long and pointed as well as pierced, and her eyes were pure black. From behind her back, I noticed in the light that she had insect-like wings that were translucent and were only noticeable when she moved them in the light.  “Don’t you agree?”

“Um, yeah.” I said, losing my focus a little. She smiled, which revealed from her lips painted with purple lipstick and shiny lip-gloss, crooked, sharp, vaguely menacing teeth. She grabbed my hand and eyed the ring of Phantomhive on it. Her hands were like fire and almost burned to the touch. She moved my hand close to her face and tilted her head suspiciously as though my hand was some sort of gem.

“Ah yes,” she cooed, “this is the best thing to happen with sons and daughters of Hades since after World War 2.”

“If I’m not mistaken,” I said with false politeness, “isn’t that when the Big Three made a pact not to have more children?”

“Why yes, demigod, your memory serves you well.” She let go of my hand, and I let it fall back to my side. “Really ‘twas the best thing until this. Things really are looking up, just when I thought they hit rock bottom.” She shrugged. “Where’s the other two?”

“Yes,” another Earl from behind me said, “where are they?”

“Now, now.” An oriental man wearing a green suit with his eyes closed pushed past the weird Countess lady who seemed insulted by this gesture. “Leave the child alone, he needs some air.”

“Pfft,” said the Countess who had spoken to me, “what would you know about air, stoner?”

“Oh, hush you, shoo you fae Queen Philomel, be gone!” He waved them off and they left.

“And who are you?”

“My name is Lau. And you’re Nico di Angelo.” The man nodded to me. A girl came up from behind him, wearing a purple party dress.

“Lau…wait, you’re the guy that helped Dante.”

“Yes, unfortunately, I could never get him back in tune with reality. Lord Trancy doesn’t seem to mind, though, so I suppose it’s good all in all.” Lau smiled, “and how would you have preferred it, Nico? I remember seeing that by Dante going mad, you felt alone.”

“ I’ve always been alone, Lau. Only now it’s a little different.”

“ Because of Lord Phantomhive?”

“ Who else, Lau, who else?”

Lau smiled. “Lord Phantomhive is an amusing boy, really. You are both so dark and cynical; no wonder you found love in each other. I’m surprised if not amazed that you managed to infiltrate his usual feeling in such a manner.”

“Thank you?”

“Indeed it’s a task that very few people, no, not any at all have done. Many have tried, however, like his former fiancee Lady Middleford.” Lau walked away after that, leaving me to fend for myself in the crowds. I looked around. Somewhere, Hazel was watching all of this with L. I kind of brushed Earls off by nonchalantly walking around so that way no one could catch me in conversation. Dante was going to town with talking, which gave me needed time to slip away from the crowds into the hallways.

       “Nico.” It was at least ten minutes before I turned to Ciel.

“I suppose you’re going to tell me to go back to the party," I said with a sigh.

“No, I’ve had enough socializing also.” Said Ciel, sighing and leaning against a wall. “However, the party has only just begun.”

“I realize that.” I said, “You and I will have to go back in there, though I think it would be better if we went in together, agreed?”

“Agreed.” Said Ciel, leaning upwards. That was when we heard a crash from down the hallway, almost like a vase. “No one is supposed to be down here.”

“That’s why they are.” I said, going down the hallway. “The party can wait.”

“Nico.” Ciel grabbed my sleeve. “Are you sure this is-” I kept walking, this time I was dragging him along.

“Do you really want to go back to that party?”

“No-”

“Then why not procrastinate?” I smiled, and he let go of my sleeve and kept walking with me.

      We didn’t see the end of the hallway once we turned the corner of the one prior. There was a blinding light, and I quickly covered my eyes as they stung from it. It was like a flash of lightning that lasted without the lightning. I felt someone’s hand grab mine, and almost hit it away before realizing it was Ciel’s. “What is this?” I yelled as a static-shock like noise came. I had no idea what was happening before Ciel and I were lifted from the floor. We were ascending, or were we descending? What was this? Where were we going? I had no idea, and I had a feeling that even Ciel had no idea either. In rapid thoughts that begged me to find an escape even though I could not, the only comfort to me was the tight grasp of Ciel’s hand, which was the only thing that assured me that I wasn’t alone and that this wasn’t some odd nightmare. I could feel his hand faintly trembling as it firmly grasped mine. Was he scared, or was my hand shaking so much that it seemed like his was too? I didn’t know, but whatever we were facing, we were facing it together.

***

     The party was positively delightful! The Earls and Countesses were very intriguing, and the band was just splendid. However, after a while of partying, I noticed that Nico and Ciel were absent. I smirked when I noticed this. “They seem to have fled.” I told Alois as Hazel and L finally came down to join us. Hazel wore a gold dress and her hair was done with a braid intertwined with purple diamond clasps to match the purple trim lace on her dress. L wore a black and white suit and tie, his hair was slicked back from his face.

“You are the gem tonight, my love.” Said Alois, laying his hand on mine. “No matter what anyone tells you.”

“I can see the truth in their minds.” I said, “I’m almost tired from all of this amusement, how much longer?”

“Until everyone goes home.” Said Alois, “or stays here the night as they sometimes do.” Alois laughed, “figures that the Phantomhives would leave early, knowing them.”

“Exactly.” I agreed, “my dear brother isn’t very social.”

“Neither is Ciel, they make quite a pair.”

“Indeed, just like you and me.” I said, “we’re both mad.” He raised a glass of soda.

“Absolutely, positively-”

“Utterly and overly-” I raised my glass also.

“ Mad.” We said in synch, then hit the glasses together, shattering them while doing so as toast to our madness.

     As if they heard the toast, the band began to play a lively and playful tune. “Shall we dance?” I said, getting up. I offered my hand to him, and he got up.

“Olé!” He clapped his hands, then grabbed mine, and we went onto the floor to dance.

***

       I didn’t even talk to anyone. Almost as soon as I got onto the floor, the music begun to play and I was taken by the hand by the person holding it began to dance with me. I had wanted to linger around L, who had assured me if anyone tried to stir trouble with me he's make a diversion so I could run, but by then he was waltzing with a demoness in a pale blue Victorian dress. “ My, what a delightful little robin you are.” said the demon leading me. He was a little taller than me with long golden blond hair and blue eyes. He wore a white suit with gold buttons and black trim.

“ Who are you?” I asked, and he smiled. He looked kind of like one of those male models had he been human, like the ones I saw girls at camp fawning over.

“ Well, most call me the Viscount of Druitt, but you can call me Aleister.” He said, then looked me up and down. “ What a lovely dress, you’re a nice dancer.”

“ Thanks.” I said, remembering those god-awful lessons we would learn in school about ballroom dancing.

“ Yes, such finesse, I haven’t seen it in the younger generations for a while.” He said, he sounded like he was hitting on me.

“ Um, I have a boyfriend.” I said, and he snickered and twirled me.

“ Can’t I merely toy with the little robin without having her fly away?”

“ No.”

He sighed, “ they said you were difficult.” I was passed along to another Earl. This time it was a familiar face.

“ Soma!” I said, “ who was that guy?”

“ Don’t trust him, Hazel.” Soma narrowed his glance at the Viscount and quickly waltzed me away from him to across the dance-floor. “ He’s a playboy, ultimately a seducer, and he deals with the black market as well as an auctioneer of black market related objects. He might kidnap a demigod like you and sell you to some unknown person.”

“ It would have been nice to tell me earlier!”

“ I didn’t think you were coming earlier!” I surveyed the floor. “ Where’s Nico?”

“ I don’t know, I lost track of Ciel too.”

“ Well, shouldn’t we look for them?”

“ No, that’s not our job.”

“ I’m his sister!”

“ It’s Ciel’s job to protect Nico, and it’s Sebastian’s job to protect the both of them. I wouldn’t doubt Sebastian’s saving-monsters skill that quickly, Hazel.”

“ But I would.”

“ Because you don’t know Sebastian.” Soma looked around the room. “ I couldn’t imagine a better servant staff to leave your brother with. Don’t tell Agni I said that, though.” He looked back at me. “ There are many arguments that I can raise. However, I will let your opinions be for now, because soon enough you will see that they are wrong.”

“ I want to look for him.”

“ Ciel will be bothered if you do.”

“ Do you think I give a damn about what he thinks?” I said, and Soma looked a bit sad.

“ Perhaps that’s why Hades paired the two of us. He knows that I can’t stand to see Ciel afflicted and he knows that you can’t stand to see Nico afflicted. I have to say that’s logic that even L can’t-”

“ Pardon?” I saw L standing behind me as Soma twirled me around. Soma explained, and L nodded. “ That is logical. Though, you really should look for Nico and Ciel.”

“ But Sebastian-”

“ Sebastian is probably eager to leave the contract and live a normal demon life. It’s almost a 60% chance.”

Soma sighed as the music stopped and died down. He let me go, and went off, looking like he was done with everything.

“ I’m going to go-”

“ Lady Hazel.” I turned to a male Earl. “ It was nice of you to join us this evening.”

“ Okay.” I said, noticing more were coming. A few went over to L and a few went over to me. I was trapped. 

***

     I looked over to Hazel a few times during the conversation just to make sure that she was okay, which she was. I maintained my calm even though I wanted to go back to my room and see if Nico and Ciel were alright on the monitors, but I was being held up there by all of the Earls. I knew by their countenances, tones, and questions that they did not know what they were keeping me from or what had happened in general. I responded to their questions, trying not to act annoyed. Perhaps Soma was right about Sebastian. More than likely eager to be free he might have been, yet Sebastian seemed very true to his word as well as devoted to his role as a butler. Perhaps he would go to help them if they were in trouble, but many things still made me leery. What of the other Phantomhive servants? I saw them, looking a bit worried as they laid the food out on tables that lined the outermost edge of the ball room. I didn’t quite know what to make of them, by my first off assumption was they’d be like Sebastian, because he was the one who gave them orders. Yet they seemed worried, however I knew that looks could easily be faked. 

      After the Earls and Countesses went away, I slipped into the hallway and went to my room. Nico and Ciel were nowhere on the monitors. I checked the screens for the outside of the mansion to find they weren’t there either. They wouldn’t leave the mansion, especially during a party. If anything, they would have gone into Ciel’s office, since that was a rendezvous for them. However, Ciel’s office, as clearly displayed, was empty. I was sure they wouldn’t go into London to escape the crowds at the ball, mainly because London was busier than the house. Therefore, they had to have been missing. I checked over the rooms again, this time checking prior footage. There they were, I looked at them, when another camera was showing an adjacent hallway. A random sparking in vase which it knocked over upon impact, and then the spark grew brighter and bigger, almost like a fire. The vase cracked, then the sound of the fire cracked, its sound like that of a bolt of lightning that had hit the ground. Nico asked Ciel if he wanted to see what was happening, and within seconds, Ciel obliged. By the time they got to the hallway, the light had taken over the entire view of the camera. The screen displayed only as blank, which meant the light was too bright for the camera to properly display. I heard Nico yell, and then silence. Suddenly, there was a large crackling noise, and then the light was gone. All that displayed was an empty hallway, silent. Nico and Ciel had vanished with the light. I checked prior recordings to the incident, going back weeks. The spark that had mysteriously taken away my brother and his boyfriend had no origin, nothing had dropped anything or placed anything there prior to that night. The vase had always been there. “ Well, shit.” I said aloud to myself, “there has to be a reason.” Then I thought about it. “ Magic, or god powers? But who cast it?” There was a knock on my door, and I opened it to see Delilah.

“ L-”

“ Delilah! Nico and Ciel are missing!”

“ What?!”

“ Come in.” I said, and she walked in. I showed her what happened and explained.

“ Looks like magic to me.” Said Delilah, and I nodded.

“ But who would take them?” I said, and then stopped. “ Don’t answer that, there is a lot of people who would. Just, go get Erik.”

“ Yes sir.” She said, and walked off.

“ Faster!”

She ran off.

***

       “ Uh, Mister Erik-”

“ Yes! I know!” I said, rushing down the hallway. “ Is L alright?”

“ Last I saw him.” Said Delilah, “ why is everyone in a hurry?!”

“ If L is missing, that means my head! That’s why!” I ran a little faster before something exploded in front of me. _“ Mon Dieu!”_ When the explosion vanished, it left not a trace, and I ran even faster. “ L!” I yelled, “ L!” As I went by, I ripped a sash cord from a window I passed. I looked at it, and saw it was a sufficient amount for its purpose. As I ran up the stairs, I tied it into a Punjab lasso, then when I got the L’s room, I broke down the door. L was gone, just as Alois ran into the room, tears streaming down his face.

“ Dante!” Alois yelped, “ he’s-”

“ Gone? So is L.” I threw the Punjab down in anger. “Does anyone downstairs know?”

“No, he went out for a moment and then he was gone!”

“ Maybe it was someone at the party.” Delilah said, “ everyone is still downstairs right?”

“ Yes.” I said, “ precisely. We should go down there, but no matter what, act like nothing has happened.”

“ HOW THE BLOODY HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO STAY CALM?!” Alois shrieked, and both Delilah and I flinched from the shrill sound.

“ We will have to.” I said, “ pull yourself together, Alois.” I took a deep breath, and began to walk what seemed now like miles back to the dance floor, thinking up excuses for their absences.


	7. The Missing Ones

         I was the only one who kept it together. Soma (because Hazel disappeared in the hallway) and Alois did not go back down to the dance floor, which didn’t help my defense. I was the only Earl holding things together seeing as Luka was now no where to be found. “What happened to the lovely robin?” Aleister asked me. 

“She merely tired from all of the dancing and excitement.” I said, “Remember, she is still human.”

“Tsk, I was hoping to dance with her.” He shrugged, “no matter, there are plenty of robins still fluttering about.” He walked away, and I kept inside my relief for the fact that he did not notice that something was wrong.

       The band began again, and a Countess grabbed my hand as we began to waltz.“Where is that son of Hades you are to guard?” She asked me, “is he not here?”

“No, he isn’t. It’s not the Earls, Miss, it’s just he isn’t terribly social.” I said, and she nodded.

“I see.” She said, and the dance traded off. Krista was my next dance partner. I could tell she read my mind, because she frowned. “Erik…”

“Yes?” I said, “Are you interested in telling me who your parents are now, Krista?”

She shook her head. “There is nothing for us to discuss, Erik. Hades is not my Father.” Said Krista, “I thought you would sense that.”

“I can not. It is only by the taste of blood that I can.” I said, “And I try my best not to read your mind.”

She smirked, and shook her head. “So you’re holding the fort, huh?”

“Yes.” I said, “I have to make sure that no one finds out about the problem.”

“Very well.” She said, right before I got another partner in the dance.

        After 30 minutes, the band took a break. I waited for the Earls to ask me questions, and soon enough they came. I told them that Hazel had gone to sleep, that L was being antisocial as well as Nico, and that Dante wasn’t feeling well. It satisfied them, but that was when they wondered why Alois, Luka, Soma, and Ciel were not present. I made up assorted stories that dovetailed each other, after all, Erik is very good at acting. 

 

       Three hours. The dance lasted for three hours more than that, and my nerves were almost to the point of making me sick by the time the last Earl had departed by chauffeur, which luckily all of them had had that night. When it was over, I sat on the foot of staircase in front of the house, elated by the fact it was over and not so elated due to the fact I was battling a headache. Krista sat next to me on the staircase. She leaned on my shoulder as though trying to absorb the pain that was throbbing through my skull. “Luka is holding Alois together, Soma and Agni are gone, and the Phantomhive and Trancy servant staff have all left in a search party for their masters. Hannah, Madame Giry, and Delilah are the only ones that remain, mainly because you haven‘t ordered your servants to begin the search, and Hannah is helping Luka calm down Alois. He's gone hysterical, Erik.”

“ I won’t order Madame and Delilah to seach.” I said, “If I am to find L, I shall do it myself. It is not a servant’s duty to do the job of the master’s.”

“ I can help you.”

“ Dear Krista, you are much to kind.” I said, “MADAME GIRY!”

She appeared, “yes Erik?”

“Could I have a pain-relieving drug of some kind?”

“Yes.” Said Madame Giry, and came back with medicine, which I took. “You will need rest, Erik.”

“I know.” I said, and Krista ceased to lean on me. “I’m going to sleep, good night.” I went up the stairs and teleported to my room, crawled into my bed, and slept.

***

      Alois was curled up on the couch, asleep. I was happy he’d finally calmed down, I hated to see him like that, I really did. I looked over to Hannah. “Go, find Dante.” I told her, and she nodded, her eyes flashing a vibrant and glowing red.

“Yes, your Highness.” She said, and disappeared. I looked back to Alois, and sat next to him.

“Don’t worry, brother.” I said stoking his soft, pale gold hair, “Dante will be back, I know he will be. He promised me he wouldn’t leave us ever again, he promised. Dante wouldn’t lie to us, he’ll be back.” I closed my eyes, and curled up along side him. “He’ll be okay.” When I woke up, Alois was gone. Figuring that he must have gone to find Dante, I walked downstairs. The house felt so empty; there was a lack of presences. The house always seemed alive, but now it was just cold and lifeless. I went downstairs and sat at the table, waiting for someone who wouldn't come. That was when that Delilah girl came down.

      “No one woke me up.” She said, looking around. “Where is everyone?”

“Looking for demigods.” I said, “So I suppose that means you have to baby-sit me.”

“Luka, how old are you?”

“I’ll pay you.”

“How much?”

“20 pounds hour.”

“30 and we have a deal.”

“Fine.” I said, “Could you at least make me some cereal? I am paying you 30 pounds an hour.”

“Fine.” She went, made me some cereal, and gave it to me.

       I ate it quickly, and then got up from the table. “So.” I said, “What shall we do now?” Delilah shrugged, and I thought of things. “Well, we would play tag, but we might break things, so no.” I said, “And in that equation, by we I mean you.”

“Hey!”

“Just kidding!" I smiled as that part of the house seemed alive again. " Still, we might break stuff. If we played hide and seek, there is a chance we would use our powers, so no.” Then I had the perfect idea. “Why don’t we visit that baker guy?”

“You mean Will?”

“Yes!” I said, “It’ll be fun!”

“Fine.” And we went.

***

        “Ciel?” After wandering around the woods for hours, I had lost Ciel. I didn’t know how I lost Ciel, but I had. I hoped he was alright wherever he was. I walked along the trail more. The trail wasn’t that creepy, really. It was made of trap-rock like a hiker’s trail, and surrounded by trees that were like a forest. I could see high, tall, pointy mountains in the distance, so I knew that I was on one of these mountains. Weird noises came from said forest, which was what made me worried about Ciel. When a weird noise got closer, I would run, and I think that was how I’d lost Ciel. I remembered he had asthma, and felt horrible for not remembering sooner. I would have carried him if I had too; I wanted him back, I felt so alone. Being alone usually never bothered me, but the fact that without me Ciel might be having an asthma attack alone without help in the woods bothered me. I wanted to go back, but something told me Ciel would be angry if I did. Three hours (or at least I thought it was, I didn’t know if I was even on Earth) later I turned back, ran at a vampiric speed to the place where Ciel went missing, and ran back from there, screaming his name until my lungs went raw. Finally, I fell in that place, and just looked at the sky above, feeling the rock beneath me. Ciel was over half of my life, and he’d become so in an amount of time that seemed unfathomable for me. It felt like a long time. I don’t know what I would do if he was dead. I couldn’t just go back to Camp because as a monster I would no longer feel comfortable there and I would have to lie to Percy; I know I couldn’t stand to see the look in Sebastian’s eyes no matter how he reacted if I went back to the mansion somehow, because it would be painful to see him overly joyful or overly sad about the fact that Ciel wasn't with me.

       I dug my fingers into the earth, and skeletal warriors popped out from the ground. They clacked in their usual tone, and even though I could understand every word that they said, I didn’t want to hear them. They helped me up, and one supported me even though my feet ached from all of my running. I didn’t quite know how that was possible, but it was. I summoned five more. “Find Ciel Phantomhive.” I ordered them, and they went off. I looked around, the path was unrecognizable, I'd gone too far back. I might have even been on another mountain as I remembered I ran on a downwards slope.

“You summoned skeletons, my Lord?” I didn’t turn to Sebastian as I stood looking in the direction the warriors had gone, and by the sound of the footsteps, the Phantomhive servant staff was behind him. I paid him no recognition for a while.

“They came faster than you, didn’t they,” I said coarsely. I was near tears from exhaustion and emotional fatigue.

“My apologizes, my Lord.”

“Shouldn’t you be looking for Ciel? I send 5 warriors after him.”

“ I have already found Master.” This time I turned, but it wasn’t to Sebastian. It was to another creature, not Sebastian. I drew my sword, and the warriors I'd summoned came from the woods and began to fight it. I turned my back to it. To be honest, at that point, I’d lost my will to fight. I didn’t want to go to Tartarus, yet I wanted to die and give up. The other monster gave a hurtling squeal before it died, and I sat on the ground as the warriors went back to their search. Had it actually spoken or was I getting delusional? 

“I should have never became a vampire….I should have continued to live a lonely life…none of this would have happened. Ciel wouldn’t be dead,” The words burned my eyes and recoiled in my throat. “He would be safe and sound in England, his home, where we-no…just he belongs. Sebastian would be serving him a cup of tea, and it would be a normal day of paperwork and-” I sighed, what was the point? I was all alone, and acting as though the skeletons cared.

“Nico.” I turned around to Ciel. His clothes were ripped and he looked like he’d rolled through dust like a chinchilla. I hugged him, and when I let go, his face stayed the same. I could tell something was worse than the usual.

“What is it?” I said, and he looked into my eyes. The skeletal warriors sunk into the ground, seeing as their mission was complete. 

“I can’t tell you. The very nature of it would risk your life and mine. You’ll want to take what is there. Therefore, I shall not take you there of even speak of it.” He sighed, “That’s why whatever wanted us here must have wanted me or you dead.” I knew not to question it. Ciel knew me well enough to know what would ensnare me, so I decided to trust him.

“Okay.” I said, “So, how do we get out of here? I mean, I summoned the skeletons so why don’t we just shadow-travel home?”

“I tried to use it to find you, Nico, and it didn’t work. That also explains partially why I look like this.” Said Ciel, gesturing to his dirty suit.

I gave a weak laugh at the thought of him repeatedly running into a tree. “Your alright, though?” I said, “That’s mainly what I was worried about."

“Yes, I’m fine. What is in the place I refuse to take you did not see me because I clung to the darkness and left without a trace.” Said Ciel, “It wasn’t easy getting out.”

“I’m sorry, Ciel.” I said, “I never meant to get you into any of this mess which I call my life.”

“Don’t regret anything, Nico.” Ciel said, “I do not.”

“Ciel, if you were given a chance to keep the life you had or go back to the way it was-”

“I would keep my life exactly the same, and with you in it. I will continue to move forward, thus never going back and never wavering, and I shall not stop.”

“For me?”

“Nico, I would keep it that way because it has always been that way for me. And yes, I would not exchange the times we’ve spent together-it would change what my view point is for the future and what it remains to be in the present.” Ciel said, and even if his answer seemed a little oblique, it felt like exactly what I wanted and expected to hear. Ciel looked around, and then began to walk forward. “We should hit a town if we keep walking this way. I sense presences, human ones, not too far away.” I walked a little faster to catch up with Ciel, and once I did, we walked side by side, two monsters that had no idea where they were going and what they’d face.

***

         When I woke up after being knocked out, I was curled up and in a dark place. My vision focused more and I saw I was in some sort of wooded area. “Erik? Delilah? Hello, is anyone out here?” I said into the darkness only to hear my own voice echo back at me. That was when I heard a rustle behind me. I turned to see a bronze dagger was pointed at my face. “Oh, hey.” I said, putting my hands up as a sign of the fact I had no weapons. However, if she did decided to attack me, it would be very easy for me to knock the weapon out of her hand and knock her out. Chances of getting through that were about 60%, pending on whether she knew any form of trained combat style.

“ Who are you?” She asked, “ Are you another monster?” I eyed her from beyond her knife. She had blonde hair in a ponytail with steely gray eyes, wore a orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, jeans, and a hilt from which her dagger was drawn.

“ I’m not here to eat you.” I tried to assure her, “ I’m here, and I don’t know why.”

“ To fight us.” Her weapon seemed to get ever more close.

“ I don’t want to fight you.” I said honestly, “ I don’t think I’m here to fight you. Even though there’s not a big chance that is the truth, on my own free will, I will not fight you.”

“ That’s what they all say.” She tried to plunge her knife into me, but the skills I learned at Wammy served useful. I ducked, hit a pressure point in her knee, while she was fell I grabbed the knife, put my foot on her stomach, pinned her arm with my other foot, and with my free arm I hit a pressure point on her spine. Now that she couldn’t move, it was the perfect time to explain myself. I kept my foot on a pressure point in her spine by sliding my other foot beneath her back, so when released she could move again.

“ Look, I’m not going to fight you.” I said, throwing the dagger. Which just as I predicted,hit a tree full force, the blade of the dagger going into the tree. “ Wait a sec.” I let go of her, and tried to shadow-travel, which pertained running into a tree. When I did so, I ended up hitting nothing but the bark, the portal not opening whatsoever. “ Ow.” I said, getting away from the tree.

The girl smiled and laughed. “ Well, if you do that, I suppose you aren’t much of a threat. My name’s Annabeth.” She said, going to the tree to get her dagger. She yanked at it a few times. “ Just how hard did you throw this thing?”

“ I’m sorry.” I said, “ Annabeth, huh? Nice name, I can’t say I’ve heard it before except for one person. You’re Annabeth Chase, right?”

“ Yeah, that’s me.” She finally got her dagger out of the tree, and put it back in it’s sheath. “ And what’s your name?”

“ L,” I said, “ and that’s it. No other letters, just L.”

“ I can’t say I’ve heard that name for a person either.” Said Annabeth, “ I’ve heard letters as nicknames but never just names.”

“ Yeah, I get that a lot.” I said, “ So I take it we’re in Camp Half-Blood?”

Annabeth shook her head. “ We’re not.” She sighed, “ The walls around the camp grew weak, and exorcists got into them.”

“ Exorcists?” I said, “ But they wouldn’t want to kill you.”

“ That’s the point, L, they didn’t. They know how well we fight monsters, and how we attract them.” Annabeth looked at her sheathed dagger. “ There was so many…they took over the Camp, split us up, and locked each cabin in a specific territory. They trapped Ares cabin and Athena cabin here.”

“ You guys are mostly in America, but exorcists are everywhere on earth.” I agreed, “ It’s okay that you got taken over, even if they are mortals.”

“ They send monsters too hard for them to catch in here.” Annabeth said, “ Which is why I was nervous about you.”

“ I suppose if they are sending blood-thirsty-no pun intended-monsters in here, then you’re right to attack me.” I said, “ I’m a vampire, by the way, but I had my meal a few weeks ago and I’m good at controlling myself.” I looked as her face went white with shock as the Hades symbol glowed above me. “ Oh, and I’m Nico’s older brother.”

***

        “ Where the fuck am I?” My only defense was my powers and a small table that walked. The half-blood boy was frozen in his tracks as I picked it up and aimed it's legs at him.

“ Hephaestus, Hypnos, Hecate, Hebe, and Hermes territory.” Said the boy, and I looked in his mind to see what he meant.

“ Thank you, Leo is it? Leo Valdez? Nice name, has a particular ring to it.” I put down the table, which ran repeatedly into my leg. “ Thing must be broken, ah well, I’m sure you can fix it.” Instead, to lessen the risk of combat, I used my powers to levitate him in the air. He laid on his stomach, looking down at me as I twirled my hand, making him float around in a centripetal motion around me. I looked around. “ It looks like it’s going to be a lovely day outside.” I said as thunder cackled in the distance like an evil laugh. “ I’m sure you can make umbrellas, unless you have them already. I myself will probably be back in England by the time the rain falls, or so I hope.” I could see the uneasy look in his eyes, yet no fear. “ You’re not scared? I don’t know if you should be. I think not, I don’t see any reason to attack you, so I won’t. The moment doesn’t suit me. How about I let you go and you leave me to find my way out of here, okay?” I let him fall to the ground.

“ Who are you?” Leo asked, seeing the glowing Hades symbol above me.

“ My name is Dante.” I said, “ And we have a deal, correct?”

“ If we can’t get out of here, you can’t either. It’s impossible for the both of us.” Said Leo, and I laughed.

“ You think I with my powers can not escape?” I shook my head and began to walk away. “ I won’t cause any trouble, no promises!” I called back before going off into the woods alone.

        The woods was dark, and would have been scary for some people, but not to me. It was actually somewhat peaceful. I walked, skipped, and ran in the what seemed to be safe woods. Leo must not have been completely daft, because even though I sensed demigod presences in the distance, they did not catch up with me, so I assumed they weren’t looking for me in the first place. It began to rain, so I found myself very cold and wet. A little more downtrodden, I rested under a tree. Lightning crackled down, but I personally didn’t care. If it hit the tree, well, whatever. I would get electrocuted, so what? That was when I felt a demigod presence coming closer and closer. I knew the thoughts were of Leo, and soon enough I saw him with an umbrella and flashlight. “ Couldn’t find a way out, could you?” He asked me with a smile. “ You don’t seem as happy as before.”

“ I don’t care if lightning hits this tree.” I said, “ I told you to leave me alone.”

“ Yeah, but it’s raining and you seem human.”

 “ How daft of you. Human? No, I am quite the opposite besides my mortal countenance.” I said, getting under his umbrella. “ But yes, some better, less lightning prone shelter is in order.”

“ I’m only doing this because your Nico’s brother.” Said Leo, “ and even then.”

“ Enough of talking! It’s raining and I think we can both agree we are freezing.” I said, and we both walked under the umbrella.

       Leo took me to a circle of tents that were not exactly dry. In the middle was a small campfire with scarps of metal around it, now muddy from the rain. “ It’s all we could do with the monster attacking and stuff.” Leo said, “ and you pissed Buford off, he doesn‘t like being flipped at that angle.”

“ Who?” I said, then thought about it. “ You named a table?”

" I think I'm going to enjoy your company." 

“ Yeah, I named a table.” Leo said, going under a tent. I followed him as he lit up a lamp without any matches. He lit it with a small flame from his fingertips.

“ Impressive.” I said sitting on his bed. I looked around his tent. There were large scraps of metal, half-made objects, it was a mess. There was a cot made together, and I laid on it. It wasn’t comfortable, but I had to say, I liked the gesture. “ Thank you.”

“ Um, that’s not your bed.”

“ To the victors go the spoils.”

“ You didn’t win anything.”

“ I won your trust, just like now I get this bed.”

“ Well, the kid who stays in the bed doesn’t sleep anyways.”

“ Does he have bags under his eyes and walk with a slouch?”

“ No, what?”

“ Oh, okay.” I said, “ If your table is made out of wood, won’t that wood warp in the rain?”

“ No, it’s good wood, it shouldn’t warp.” Said Leo, sitting on his bed. “ So, you came from England?”

“ Yes. I have no idea how I got here. One minute I was in the hallways, and the next, I was in the woods. Then there was you, Leo, and I panicked.” I said, thinking about Alois. “ I want to go home, I want to get back to my boyfriend.” I hated to see him worked up over things, and the image of him crying made me flinch. I loved Alois, and thinking of him being in pain and or worried made me anxious, angry, and sad. Those emotions swirled together inside me, and I said nothing as Leo rambled on. I couldn’t focus on his words, for I didn’t care to hear them at all. I turned away from him, looking at the side of the tent, thinking of my dear Alois.

***

         I woke up in a room. It was bleak, and light filtered into the room through thin curtains. I heard a shrill laugh, and I turned to the person or thing in the corner. The person of thing wore a casual black breeze with a thin black shirt beneath, faded blue jeans, and black brogues. His hair was white, either bleached with chemicals or age, and it was so long and thick, it hid his face. All that shown was his angled nose, his thin, purple lips and a scar that ran diagonal down his face. “ Good morning Miss Hazel.” He said, before cracking up laughing.

“ Who are you, where am I?” I said, confused by his laughter. “ Why are you laughing?”

“ Your in my home, Miss Levesque. I have no idea how you got here, and I myself cannot get out of my own house. It’s quite peculiar.” Said the man. “ You may call me the Undertaker.”

“ Is Soma here?”

“ Yes, Soma and his butler. Neither of them can leave this house. We have no idea what’s going on.” He laughed more.

“ What is so funny?!”


	8. Cousins

 

***

        The town was small, and no doubt it was rarely visited for any other purpose but stopping to rest for whatever reason a traveler would have. The first place Ciel and I went into was a diner, no doubt family-owned. The waitress was about 16 with dip-dyed hair and gages, but smiled pleasantly as she handed us our menus. “Where are you kids from?” She asked, “Where are your parents?” Ciel didn’t say anything as he looked down at the menu.

“They went to go find a hotel. We’ve been traveling all night.” I said, “Do you know where any are?”

“The Oak Inn is nice, my friend’s parents own it, and I clean there on weekdays after school. That’s the only place to stay in this town.” Said the girl, “what would you like to drink?”

“I’ll have coffee.” I said, and Ciel looked up.

“Earl Grey tea, please.”

“Alright.” She said, and then left us.

“I figured if I said something, it would signal us off as British, and you don’t have the accent.”

“I could say you were my cousin, visiting from Britain.” I said, and Ciel shook his head.

“We can’t have it seem too eccentric. If you were inviting a person from Britain to America, wouldn’t you choose some place better for them to eat than a small diner which you’ve never been too?” Ciel said, “I’m also not that hungry. Perhaps if I speak less, the waitress will not notice my accent, so she will not ask questions. The less questions, the easier it will be to make alibis.”

“You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?” I said, “Just like at Camp Half-Blood. They didn’t suspect a thing.”

“ Well, now both you and I are in hiding.” Said Ciel, “if Sebastian and the servants find us, we’ll have to leave. Hopefully by then we’ll be able to shadow-travel and go home.”

“Yeah.” I said, “Maybe the person will think we’re dead.”

“That is what I am hoping too.” Ciel said, and the waitress returned to take our orders.

“What would you boys like to eat?” She was a little speedy with the drinks, so I had no idea what to order, so I blurted out what I felt like eating.

“He’s not having anything, but I’ll have a cheeseburger with french fries.” I said, and she nodded, writing it down. Then she took our menus and went to another table. “I remember when I used to use McDonald’s happy meals to summon the dead.”

“Yes, I remember being told about that.” Ciel said, “I thought Hades would give you more than enough money, but unfortunately, him giving you money wasn’t allowed. You were using it in an attempt to summon Bianca, correct?”

“ Correct.” I said, taking a sip of the coffee. “I still miss her. A little less now, but I still do. I wish she didn’t sacrifice herself like that, though. I wish she didn’t leave me alone, to be in all of that pain by myself. I keep thinking that there was another way, that her death was pointless. I don’t know what to think about it anymore. All I know is that I still miss her, and that’s never going to change.”

“ Her death is one of the events that warped you into what you are now.” Said Ciel, “the fact that she was a hunter-”

“Must have been like a slap across the face to the Earls.” I reasoned, “Because you're monsters and Hunters of Artemis killed a lot of monsters, right?”

Ciel nodded, “unfortunately. I heard of how you slowly became how you are through the conversations of Earls. However, I never paid much attention to your existence, Nico. I had larger things to accomplish, and couldn’t worry about you because I had nothing to do with you. When they started to talk about you, I couldn’t have cared less.”

“ Except when I closed Tartarus, right?” I said, and he nodded.

“That was a shot heard 'round the Underworld.” Said Ciel, “every demon, every monster, everything that would go to Tartarus after death cared about that. I remember I had to announce it to the village of monsters that I was nearest too. After that day, every being in the Underworld except souls in the Capital hated all of the demigods that had closed Tartarus. Pleadings for your executions were said every hour after that.” He paused, “after you and I began a relationship, you were excluded from their plights, as was told to me from an Underworld informant by mail. However, for full atonement on your behalf, they asked that you be made a demon.”

“ So, my dad caved in.” I said, “He caved into them.”

Ciel nodded again. “It took me quite some time to see his plot, and it disgusted me that I did not see it.”

“I suppose if people were coming to me hour by hour asking me to kill people and punish my children, after a while if I was a god, I think I would have given in.” I said, “And would regret it. That’s why he put Hazel under Soma’s protection, isn’t it?”

“I believe so.” Said Ciel, sipping his tea. He looked out the window, and then back at me.

“I suppose that’s why he never brought Bianca back.” I said, “And why he let her go. I still wish he didn’t, though.”

“ You will never forget Bianca.” Said Ciel, “ever. I’m not expecting you to.”

***

       Annabeth and I sat around the campfire. It crackled, and we didn’t really talk. I just looked up at her, stole a few glances, and looked away. “Is Nico really dead?” Annabeth asked, and I didn‘t look into her eyes.

“He isn’t.” I said, “He’s alive and well. But there are certain things that I can not tell you, and I can tell you in complete confidence that there is a 70% you’ll never see him again.” I wished I hadn’t said it. “I know you don’t believe me, and I’m happy you don’t. Don’t tell anyone I told you, okay?”

“ Maybe.” Annabeth said, “I need evidence.”

“I don’t want you to believe me.” I decided, “so don’t believe me, okay?”

“For now, L, I will.” Said Annabeth, poking a log in the fire with a long stick.

“So, I take it since it’s only Ares and Athena cabins here, Percy isn’t here.” I said, and she nodded. “You must be worried about him.”

“I am.” Said Annabeth, “for all I know, the exorcists could have only spared a few cabins and killed the children of the Big Three.”

“By sending me here, they have an intent of killing me.” I said, “So you have valid reasons to believe they wish to kill or have killed the children of the Big Three. I might be the only one left." I hated the thought of losing Hazel, Dante, and Nico. After Mello and Matt, I didn't want to lose anyone ever again. " However, there is also a chance that they didn’t kill them because they saved you, and if their goal was to annihilate powerful demigods, they would have killed you.”

“You know, L, I think that’s the first time a monster admitted I was a powerful demigod.” Said Annabeth, “It’s about time one of your kind admitted it.”

“My species has nothing to do with it.” I said, “You’re a powerful half-blood, and that’s apparent to anyone who’s heard of you. It seems to be that be powerful or die an early painful death is the status quo when it comes to life as a demigod. Either that or you need connections.” I looked around, listening to the crackling fire. I felt comfortable around Annabeth; she was my cousin after all. Even though she almost plunged a knife through me, I felt as though it was okay to speak my mind to her. Even though it wasn’t the best idea by far and I would probably be angry with myself later because it was a stupid decision, I did it anyways. “Before I became a vampire, I had no idea demigods existed, and wouldn’t have believed it. I didn’t believe in that stuff, even though when I look back, a few people were probably monsters hunting me. However, I utilized my connections and got rid of them. I’m a detective, you see.”

“Mortals can’t stop monsters or see them.” Annabeth said plainly, “you must have been attacked at one point in your life.”

“Annabeth, you don’t know the kick-ass mortals I knew.” I said, “They might have been exorcists, I don’t know. The bad part about this life is I question everything that happened in my more mortal life. I barely do any cases anymore, few people know I exist and those who do barely have any problems. I really don’t think I have a reason anymore, Annabeth, I just pretend I do. I want to be certain about things, but at the same time I cannot be. This is a disadvantage of this life, and sometimes I wish it to end.” I was talking to myself more than her, but I could tell she was listening, as her eyes focused on me, gleaming a bit in the soft glow of the campfire. “Yet, logic-which has betrayed me since then-tells me I have a purpose that I just don’t know yet. A purpose that is hidden like the solving clue to a case. I don’t think I’ll ever find it. Maybe my purpose was to stop Kira, but I didn‘t stop him; I died before I did. Is this my punishment for not completing my purpose? Is my punishment for that to live without one, to forever masquerade that I have a reason?”

“ I can’t tell you what your purpose is, L, just like I can’t tell you exactly why you are here other than for me to kill you, which I think I’ve resolved not to do.” Said Annabeth, “maybe your purpose is just to live.”

“Yes, but that’s not a good enough purpose for me.” I said, and she shrugged.

“Perhaps it’s to be the older sibling that the other children of Hades need.”

“Perhaps, Annabeth, but they’d be fine and more than likely better off without me. I try to be a good older sibling, but I just am not good enough. I don’t think I’m doing stuff right, saying the right stuff, and I know I’m not.”

“ How do you know for certain?” Said Annabeth, “All people think they’re not good enough, that they’re not doing their role right.”

“You have a point.” I said with a sigh, “but I don’t think I’ll ever know.”

***

      My day was an interesting series of events. After leaving the bakery with Delilah, I took a seat in a bench by Big Ben. I liked to look at it; it was one of my favorite things to do. Just to sit and watch the clock move, to watch time slip away. However, it was Delilah who got bored. “Luka, this is boring.” She said outright, “why don’t we do something fun, like ride shopping carts down a hill?” “Hush you, I’m paying you 30 pounds, and if I want to sit and look at the clock, 30 pounds says you will too.” She groaned and leaned back on the bench. “But I’m the baby-sitter; shouldn’t I be telling you what to do?” “Don’t test my patience.” I said with a hiss, and she jumped back a little.

“You don’t need to be so grumpy about it!” Said Delilah, then she stayed silent. I could tell she was sulking, but I didn’t necessarily care. The bell rung at five o’clock.

“Okay, now I think it’s time we had dinner.” I said, getting up. “Where shall we go?”

***

       I fell asleep thinking about Alois. When I woke up, half the Camp was up, and Leo was gone. I walked out of the tent, cold, my clothes still wet from the rain the night before. Half-bloods had assembled by the camp-fire, and they all stared at me. Their talk went silent, and I waved to all of them. “Good morning demigods!” I said, “I come in peace!” There was a long silence.

“You're up.” Leo said belatedly, “man, it’s actually hard to wake up the dead!”

I laughed and sat next to him at the fire, whilst the other demigods were putting daggers into me with their glances. He seemed to be the only one in good spirits. “You should see Nico in the morning. Could’ve sworn he was dead. Oh wait, for you people, he is, almost forgot.” I said, and Leo’s face fell.

“Nico, he’s-”

“Alive and well hopefully! He’s just a vampire now, but he hasn’t changed really.” I said, “You look shocked. How could you not guess that this would happen? I mean, he’s the son of Hades, obviously he’s going to become a creature of darkness at some point.”

An older boy stood up.“Leo, what the hell did you think you were doing?! This is a monster and a lying one too!”

I stood up as a defense of myself. I let my vampire form show, and a few of them went pale from shock, a few even drew their weapons. I laughed at their foolishness, wishing Alois were there to laugh with me. “Monster indeed, but lying I am not. How foolish of you to not believe me, quite a pity too. I knew it would be a waste of breath.” As more drew their weapons, I found the only defense was my mind, which was a good one. “This could work both ways.” I said, “I really don’t want to kill you, cousins.” Then, in realization, “wow. This is rather fucked up when I think about it. But, whatever-it‘s not like I really care anyways.” I sighed, “I could kill the monsters, and I could send them off for you. It would take me quicker, and then there would be less fatalities. I really don’t want to hurt you guys for some reason.” Leo stood behind me, no weapon drawn. “I say we should believe him.” Said Leo, and another half-blood whirled around and attempted to stab him.

“TRAITOR!” They yelled.

I froze her hand in place when the dagger was a few inches away from his heart. I grabbed his shirt and teleported us into a nearby tree. With my mental powers, teleportation only teleported you so far.

      Leo looked confused as we sat in the tree. “So, you’re a traitor now.” I said, “But you were wise to side with me. I feel the presence of a monster coming for them.” I looked around, no one was there. “They should all just be swallowed by the darkness, all of them.”

“I have to help them.” Said Leo before looking down.

“But that’s an awfully long way down.” I said, “Besides, they’ll try to kill you.”

“Dante, you could show them-”

“Show them what? My powers? Surely they have enough proof my powers exist.” I said, and Leo shook his head.

“That you could kill monsters!” He said, and I thought about it.

“It’s not a bad idea.” I said, “Okay.”

       It took me a total of 3 seconds to kill the monster. It took a second for it to charge at me, and it took 2 seconds to make it’s vitals explode with my mind control. They all looked at me, a bit stunned, their faces priceless. And I laughed at them.

***

      I looked out of the funeral home’s window and at the people outside. I wanted with everything to get out of that place. That was until they arrived.

      I couldn’t sleep, that was common in that place, because I don't think anyone sleeps well in a funeral home unless they're dead. I knew Soma, Agni, and the Undertaker (that’s if he even did sleep) were sleeping more than likely though. I sat in a rocking chair by the window, looking out of it. That was when men in black trench coats turned the corner and came walking down the streets. Then they turned, and began to go closer and closer to the funeral home. Their faces were cold, reverent, as though they were ministers going to a funeral. I heard the door open downstairs. I was confused, but I knew whatever was coming in couldn’t be good. I knew I had to hide. I slipped quietly into a closet and locked the door.

       I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned to see the Undertaker. The closet wasn’t a closet. Behind him I saw stairs. He put his finger to his lips, and turned, going down the stairs. I followed him, the only noise being the hushed sounds of our footsteps descending into darkness and the unknown. My heart beating rapidly. As it got darker and darker, the Undertaker took a flash-light from his pocket and gave it to me. He was very serious, and he seemed nothing like he did when I met him. When we had walked for what seemed like forever, he turned to me briefly. “I take it if there are gems on the steps, I should not touch them?” He said, and I nodded.

“Who were those guys?” I asked, and he turned around.

“Exorcists, coming for you no doubt.” Said the Undertaker, “and as an Earl, it is my duty to protect you from harm.”

“I thought that was only Soma’s job.” I said, and he chuckled coldly.

“Soma? You really think he’ll protect you from danger?” He said, and I looked around. The walls were getting more damp.

“Where are we going?” I said, noticing it was getting warmer. He didn’t answer me. I didn’t know if I should trust him or not, but my flash-light seemed to be dying, and there was no railing on the stairs. If I slipped in the dark, I could fall from the stairs down into whatever was at the bottom of them. I would have to trust the Undertaker.


	9. From Jackal to Rabbit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who don't know Kuroshitsuji, warning Alois does go a little more crazy than usual in this chapter.

***  
  
     The rattling of the train car wakes me up ten minutes before the usual time that I would get up. Mister Sebastian is already awake. The train car’s door is opened slightly, and he sits in the doorway, his legs on the outside of the train car. He checks his pocket watch, and then looks back at me. I got up and sat with him. We were in a forest and turning a corner. “Why are we doing this again?” I said, forgetting why we couldn’t just shadow-travel to where Master Nico and Young Master were.

“They either somewhere inside this barrier, which is where this train should got through. This is the only way we can get in. If they are not there, they should be awaiting us in the nearby town.” Said Sebastian, looking down at the watch before closing it. “ However, that should be in at least 5 hours from now. For now, we wait.” I looked around at the woods, the late autumn landscape. It was cold and would be winter soon, which meant assorted winter duties and sometimes manual housework. Despite thinking of this, I wondered if the Young Master was alright. I wanted to find him and make sure of that very much, but when Mister Sebastian said to wait, you waited. " Ease yourself, Finnian." He said, he rarely used my full name. 

" Yes sir, shall I wake the others up?"   
" Yes."   
And I went off to do so, looking back at him only for a moment. I didn't trust him, I never fully did. He was supposed to kill the Young Master at the end of the contract which would never come. I had my reasons of feeling the way I did. 

***

     Master-” Claude looked at me pitifully. To the slayers, he was the head demon in a pack of them. In reality, I was, but he was the butler. Now they were beating him up. His glasses broke, and I took them from him so they wouldn’t splinter and get into his eyes. I surveyed them, just as the slayers finally left him alone. He got up from the floor, he sat next to Hannah, and weakly reached out his hand for his glasses.

“ No Claude, the glass will get in your eye!” I said, “ And I don’t want a blinded butler.”  
“ How kind.” He said with half sarcasm.

“ Don’t sass me or else you’ll get more than glass in your eye!” I said, looking around. The Trio and Hannah remained silent. “ What? This is a good idea. We’ll get Dante back in no time at all. They’re bringing us to-” I turned to the Trio. “ Tell me again.”  
“ Hephaestus and Hermes cabin territory.” Said one of the Company.  
“ I have a feeling that’s exactly where I want to go.” I said looking back to the broken glasses, “ And where he is. Maybe he’s making me feel that way. I don’t know-he works in mysterious ways that even I don’t know.” I sighed, “ Either way, where did they say that was?”  
“ Northern Maine, your Highness.” Said Hannah, “ We’re in southern California right now.”  
“ Ugh, so we’re looking at like what, over 24 hours?” I sighed, “ This is going to be boring.” She nodded, and edged back into a corner. “ I’m not angry at you, Hannah! I just hope Luka’s okay. The only one left behind was Delilah, yes?” Hannah nodded. “ Perfect! She can baby-sit Luka. No doubt he’ll be giving her 50 or 60 pounds an hour.” I looked around the train car, then at Claude. I poked out the shards in his glasses, and gave them back to him. “ I’ll buy you a new pair of glasses when we get back, Claude.” He nodded, and I laughed. He looked silly with one lenses poked out of the glasses and only half of the lens in another. He was all bruised and healing now, but he looked tired. “ I might even give you a break after this is all done.”  
“ You're much too kind sometimes, Master.” Said Claude, “ You seem to have had a change of heart.”  
“ Maybe.” I said, “ you almost died I think.” I looked at some of the wounds that weren’t healing. I went closer to Claude and took his arm, surveying the wounds that weren’t healing. “ Blessed daggers?” He nodded. “ Must have hurt like hell.”  
“ It is the toll I pay for my foolishness many years ago.” Said Claude, “ it isn’t anything really.” I came towards Claude and leaned on him. The train car was cold, mainly because it was used in meat storage. The cow and pig carcasses swung slightly above us when we moved around in the train car. It looked like a horror movie set. I suppose we were the horror, considering the fact that we were demons. I closed my eyes and fell asleep against Claude.

***  
  
       “ Well?” Said Krista, “ I sense him in there. What are you going to do?”  
“ I cannot seem to break the barrier around this place.” I touched the barrier, and it singed my hand. This time, it began to bleed, but it healed. “ It needs someone to unlock it. But until then, we should rest.” I said, “ Well, you must need too. You are human after all.”

“ No, I’m fine.” Said Krista, “ We should find the person who can get into this place so we can get L out of it.”  
“ We should.” I said, touching it again and tracing the aura. “ Slayers.” I traced it, and began to walk in the direction, Krista following behind me.

***  
  
       The Oak Inn only had one room available, and it was a one-bed room. Apparently, I was wrong about the fact that only a few people stayed in town. They all had out of state plates, probably travelers. The Oak Inn seemed sleepy, because very few people were milling around, so I assumed it was a rest stop for travelers. Either way, I was insanely tired and I could tell that by the slight lag in his walk, Ciel was too. I opened the door with the key they gave us, and ran to the bed then laid down on it. Ciel laid next to me, and I shuffled towards him. I put my arms around him and held him close. “ Just in case something happens,” I whispered, “ I want you to be close to me, so that way if they try to take you away, I’ll know.”

“ Sounds reasonable.” Said Ciel, wrapping his arms around me. Then he closed his eyes, and in a few minutes, he was asleep. He looked quite handsome when asleep. After a good 30 minutes or so, I couldn’t stand the lack of sleep any longer, and fell asleep myself.

***  
  
        1:36. 1:37. 1:38. I closed the pocket watch, and again surveyed the cold train car. Master had fallen asleep, as had Hannah and the Trio. How fitting for the head servant to stand guard. I was still a bit taken aback from Master’s sudden show of trust and affection. I didn’t trust it would stay that way, and glanced down at him as he clung to my side. He looked calm while he was asleep. I wondered what had caused such a sudden change; I did not show that I was near death with the exorcists’ attack, and still felt a bit frail. Perhaps Master had felt that I was slipping away, and decided some genial behavior toward me was needed. I did not expect it to be in place when he awoke. His personality ranged from a rabbit to a jackal, and such changes took mere seconds.

      The train stopped, and the doors opened. I automatically changed to a shadow, picking up Master and hiding in the same form. I hid behind the carcass of a pig. My, how disgusting you humans can be when getting your meals. To think that a part of that pig’s ribs would be finely roasted, marinated, and served on a dish for you humans to gnaw at the cooked muscles and leave behind only the bones. Alternatively, put the innards to boil and then be put into some dish, which you would eat, or bread the bone of the shoulder and fry it in a pan. Though was far less clean and dignified to the creature than eating a soul, there was something both alluring and disgusting about it. As a demon, I wasn’t one to judge with disgusting meals-ours are indeed more disgusting than the humans‘, for you are the ones whom we feast upon generally. I did not really know…I cooked human meals for Master, but I had never tasted one myself, and never bothered too.

        The man who walked into the train car was portly, short, and groggy looking. He yawned and covered his mouth with a small and fat hand, then walked in after murmuring something. His shoes crunched on the ice and he froze, and looked suspiciously around the cart. A meat carcass jiggled slightly, and I sensed one of the Trio had gone behind it. “ Hello?” He said with his scratchy, baritone voice. He shrugged, and surveyed the meat. He nodded at each one, counting them silently, and then he left the train car, locking it.

      “ That was close.” Said Thompson, appearing suddenly. “ Man almost spotted me.”  
“ I think he did, you idiot.” Said Timber, “ be more careful!”  
“ Some leader of us you are; just because you were the first of us.” Said Canterbury, and Hannah sighed.

“ Boys? Can you not, please? This is going to be a long train ride, and I don’t think fighting is a good way to spend it.” Hannah said as the train lurked forward, nearly knocking her onto the carcass of a cow. I gently tilted one of the hanging bodies and stood in the middle of the train car. 

     Master yawned, and woke up. “ Claude?” He said as a gently lowered him to the ground. He gave me a hug, then looked around the train car. “ What happened?”  
“ Nothing, Your Highness, nothing at all.” I said, and he smiled then chuckled.

“ You always say that when something goes wrong.” Master said, then he walked over to Hannah. “ I don’t like this place.” He shivered, walking past her and then the Trio towards the back of the car. “ Reminds me of how I died, metaphorically of course.” He took a deep breath, pivoted, and began to walk towards me. His voice turned bitter and sorrowful, as well as shaky. “ Without the warmth of love and comfort of affection-the cruel bitter stabbing of reality. Dying like nothing more than a pig or cow ripe for the slaughter, no, no dignity…no pity…just a meal being prepared-just like these pigs and cows!” A few tears fell from his eyes and he closed them, then he chuckled softly, his head lowered. Then his laughter grew louder and louder until it riveted throughout the train car, as he craned his head up towards the ceiling. Finally, it settled, leaving a faint echo. His red eyes glowed as they stared at me. “ All because of you, Claude…all because of you.” He began to walk towards me. The Trio and Hannah moved, making a sort of aisle for him. _Click, clack. Click, clack._ His boots echoed as they came near. I closed my eyes, for I did not wish to face the punishment, which might entail poking my eyes out whether they were open or closed. I knew his gentle facade would not last long-something that once looked gold now green, something that was once alive dead, something that was once as docile as a rabbit into something with more blood-lust than a jackal. A sorrowful human into a vengeful demon. Finally, the sound of the boots stopped. “ Look at me.” He whispered angrily, the louder. “ Look at me.” Now his voice was at a normal tempo. “ Look at me.” Then he screamed it. “ LOOK AT ME.” Then he shrieked it, and I believe you get the gist of that. Then he slapped me, harder than I imagined. He grabbed my tie and I turned to him, my eyes open. I saw him. His angered glance turned softer, and he chuckled, an evil smile curling on his lips. He did not choke me with my tie as I suspected, but teased it around in his fingers, like a cat toying with a piece of string in it's paws.

“ Master…” I said, and he did not look at me, but at my tie.

“ You’re so evil, Claude.” Said Master with a hint of laughter, “ I don’t know why I just don’t kill you. Something in my mind just can’t bring me to it.” He shook his head and then gave a loud and short laugh. “ I don’t even know any more. Dante’s gone, Luka might be in danger, and I’m stuck here, in a train car filled with dead animals that are frozen, how fitting.” He laughed again, his grip on my tie growing stronger.

“ Master.” I said, not realizing until after I said it the tone in my voice sounded pleading even though I hadn’t meant for it to be.

“ What Claude?” Said Master, “ Are you going to beg for me to let you go like a hooked fish? Do you see these animals, Claude? Once they were tied down and were never freed again. I guess this arguing venue fits both you and I, doesn't it? Can you not deal with the danger looming over you as I hold your tie like this, so like the pig you squeal to be released?” He looped my tie around his fingers. “ You should be-I want you to scream with fear of me, but not yet. No, it must not be ordered. It must be genuine fear. However, this tie is too nice for me to strangle you with, and if I strangle you, I won't have the pleasure of hearing you scream.” He let it go. “ I’m falling apart again. I need him back…I want him back…” He sunk to the floor, then he looked up at Hannah. “ Comfort me.” He said, and she began to near him. She sat next to him, and he leaned on her. Hannah held him close as he wept, like a mother comforting her child. I looked to the Trio, who were all staring at me with a look most bitter.

“ This is all your fault, Claude.” Said Thompson, and Timber nodded.

“ You reap what your sow.” Said Timber, “ no pun intended considering we’re surrounded by dead pigs.”

“ You reap what you sow and nothing more and nothing less.” Said Canterbury, “ but when you fail to reap what you sow-”  
“ The harvest turns bitter.” They said in unison.

***  
  
      “ He needs me.” Said Dante, looking to me. I was wondering why he’d been sitting on that rock for so long.

“ Who needs you?” I said, “ Your boyfriend?”  
He nodded. “ I can feel his presence. It’s coming closer now, perhaps he’ll find a way to take me home.”  
“ I don’t think the tent can fit anyone else.” I said, “ It is only meant for two people.”  
“ No, Leo-he’s bringing his servants. That makes six people all together.” Said Dante, “ We can kill Claude, though, so that makes five.”  
“ Why would you kill Claude?” I said, “ Or do I not want to know?”  
“ Why kill Claude, you say…well, I can give you at least 10 or 15 valid reasons why I would.” Said Dante, “ or he could make a web in the trees, he is a spider demon. Perhaps that’s where they’ll sleep. Alois can share the mat with me though.”

“ Dante, it’s not even yours.” I said, and he shrugged.

“ That girl never came back from the woods.” Said Dante, “ So I would like to assume I’m the only owner of that mat now.”  
“ Wait, she never returned?” I said, and he nodded.

“ Valdez, I have been sitting on this rock all day scanning minds outside of this place for my Alois.” Said Dante, “ and no I cannot contact minds for this distance. A few other cabins are ranging from over 5,000 miles to 300 miles. Both are rather long distances.”  
I sighed and sat next to him on the rock. “ Yeah, those are long distances. Maybe we can get like a carrier pigeon or something.”  
“ Carrier pigeon, now that’s an idea.” Said Dante, “ but I don’t think there are pigeons in the woods. We could try birds of prey.”  
“ Yeah, for some reason I don't think that would go well.” I said, going over to the fire. It was dying, so I poured the bucket of water over it. It was getting late, about 10:30 or so according to my more than likely accurate fireproof Rolex.

“ I’m happy you put that fire out.” Said Dante, “ it’s bothered my eyes all day.”  
“ It is kind of getting late.” I said, listening to the howl of a wolf in the woods. “ But for some reason, I don’t feel like sleeping.” I sat next to Dante again.

“ You know, Leo, you’re not that bad.” Said Dante, “ The way other monsters describe you, you’re worse than a demon.”  
“ Well the fact that I can control and summon fire does kind of help that.” I said, “ Hades, people thought I was a demon without the fire, especially teachers.”  
“ I take it you weren’t one for school?” Dante said with a smile, and I nodded. “ I see it in your mind. You are one prankster-that one is golden.”

“ Which one?” I said, but he was laughing hard so I couldn’t hear him.

“ One that got you suspended.”  
“ Be more specific.”  
“ The one where you put the salt in the experiment and it exploded and lit the teacher’s pants on fire!”  
“ That wasn’t a prank.”  
“ No?”  
“ That was an accident but yes,” I remembered the teacher face then starting laughing.“ Oh and then-”  
“ Yes I see it! Oh, this is the prank!” He laughed, and I remembered how the bell rung and confetti spurted all over the room like a firecracker had gone off then the clock acted all psycho. Then the paint acted like gushers and exploded. The kids in that class liked to pick on me, so it was ample payback. When the memory dulled, Dante slowly began to calm down. “ You are the prank master, Leo Valdez.”

“ I try my best.”  
  
***  
  
      My first day with Delilah as baby-sitter was ending. When we finally entered the darkened mansion, it was 12:30 at night. I’d taken her suggestion of riding shopping carts down the hill, and granted it was rather fun. “ Good night, Delilah!” I said, giving her a hug, then ran up the stairs. I got into my pajamas, then into my bed. Usually Hannah would come in and give me a hug before I went to bed. It would help me sleep, but because she wasn’t there, she couldn’t give me a hug. So I laid awake, staring at the ceiling. I was a demon, so naturally you wouldn’t think I would be scared about things in the night, but I was. Some demon could break in and kill me. I was an Earl-that was a position much desired. Also, an exorcist could break in. These thoughts made me toss and turn and look around at every little noise. Without Hannah, anything could happen. Delilah was all the way downstairs and probably wouldn’t wake up at the drop of a pin, which was how long it would take an exorcist to kill me. However, if I was close by her, at least I would be somewhat safe. So I took my pillow and went downstairs. The hallway was somewhat dark, but I managed to get to the servant’s quarters without knocking anything over. I opened the door to Delilah’s room, only to find she was asleep. I climbed into her bed, laid my pillow down, and closed my eyes, then feel asleep.

  
***  
  
    “ Where are we going?” I asked again and the Undertaker did not respond. “ Okay, _why_   won’t you tell me where we’re going?” He still didn’t respond. A few seconds later, I heard him humming. The sound sent chills up my spine even though the tune of the song was happy. I had no idea for how long we’d been walking, but finally, we reached the end of the staircase. The bottom of the staircase was dark, and in the distance, I could hear water. “ Where are we?”  
“ Monsieur Erik is very talented. I knew that, so I asked him to build my embalming cellar when I moved here.”  
“ You mean, you prepare bodies down here?”  
“ Yes.” The Undertaker turned the flashlight to a stainless steel table with wheels and pulleys. “ That’s how they get up and down from here.” He turned the flashlight to what I knew was the almost filing cabinet like structure which was where bodies were held. On the side of it was a stainless steel stretcher, and on a tray, supplies I knew were for embalming. Machines and fixtures such as a crematorium in another room signaled off not only creepy but the fact that I was surrounded by death. “ No one will find us down here-that was one of the many entrances I have through the house.” He looked around, then opened one of the cabinets' drawers. “ This one is clean, and you need your sleep.”  
“ No, just no.”  
“ Come now, it’s perfectly safe. And besides, if they come down here and find you, I’ll be dead. If you’re in this cabinet, well, who would look in there?”  
He had a point, but I still was no lying where dead bodies did. I had a fair share of my time being dead. “ Won’t I suffocate?” I asked, and he shook his head.

“ It’ll be opened a little.” He said, just as a door opened from up the stairs. “ Quickly.” He mouthed, and I had no choice. I laid on the slab, and he rolled me in. 


	10. Finding the Slayer's Snares

        It was dark in the cabinet. I didn’t know what it was called, but it looked like a cabinet, even though it held dead bodies. I heard the Undertaker humming, he sounded happy yet nervous by the tone of the humming, but perhaps that was just the song. That was when resounding footsteps stopped. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of the fight. Finally, there was a noise of metal on something, and falling. “Hazel.” I heard the Undertaker say. He opened the cabinet, and I looked up at him. His hair was out of his eyes, revealing that they were a shade of green and yellow, and they glowed like lanterns in the dark. He held a long scythe with a human ribcage and skull near the top. The blade was dyed crimson and dripping. “It’s alright, Hazel.” He said, “It’s alright.”

“What happened?” I said, and he shook his head.

“Let’s go.” Said the Undertaker, offering me a hand. I took it, and he helped me up. I didn’t look down, and almost gagged when I felt the wetness of blood beneath my shoes. Then we began to climb the staircase, going up towards the hopefully safe light of dawn.

        When we did reach the light of dawn (as was hoped for), I didn’t hear Soma and Agni. Then it occurred to me the people who were now in the embalming cellar could have killed them. I didn’t really know Soma and Agni well, but they had been nice to me all of that time, so I didn’t want them to be dead. I ran out of the room, and saw the doors were open. There was blood, and a lot of it. “Soma?” I called frantically, and heard no answer.

“They’re gone, Hazel.” Said the Undertaker, “missing, more than likely dead.” His hair was still swept out of his eyes, which seemed to pierce through my very soul as they stood out from his pale, scarred face. “And as an Earl, I take the responsibility of being your protector until he returns.” And I was forced to remember like I had for almost my entire life, that in a cruel world, very bad things happened to good people. 

***  
  
         When I got up, Nico was still there. He was fast asleep, and I even though I did not wish to awaken him, I slipped out of his embrace. I was thirsty, so I took a paper cup provided by the room and drank some water. When I turned back to Nico, he was still there. I knew it didn’t take a person very long to kidnap someone who was sleeping, especially if they were slayers. I sat at the foot of the bed, drinking my water, until I heard the creak of the bed springs behind me. Nico sat next to me at the foot of the bed, and looked around the room. “Pretty nice.”  
“People will suspect us to be here because it’s the only hotel in the area. I wouldn’t suggest staying here for a long time.” I said, “Plus we look 13 and 14, if someone says they are our parents, that will be likely to be believed. The staff will more than likely tell them which room we are in.”  
“ However, do you really want to walk again, Ciel? Personally, I’d rather summon warriors to fight them off and sit here with you.” Said Nico, putting his arm around my waist.

“You know I would too, Nico, but I have to think of your safety and my own.” I said, leaning against him.

" Have you ever thought," he whispered to me, " so put the whole Earl-demon thing aside and just be you for a while, just so we can be us?" 

" Even if I wasn't an Earl I would want you to be safe," I said, " but I suppose I can try to forget that for a while."   
He smiled, " I knew you would."   
" Only for you."   
" Only for me."

***

       “You worry to much.” I sighed after another very long nap. I wanted to go outside, yet Ciel was objecting, as usual.   
“Worry? No, Nico, I don’t worry. I merely think of things before they happen.”  
“ Well then, that just makes you pessimistic.” I said, “But that’s okay because I’m pessimistic too. But hey, pessimism keeps us alive and helps us to be on our toes so we're ready for things to happen.”  
“ Yes,” Ciel agreed, “ if one is floating in an illusionary dream for all their life or see the world with rose-color, when lies are thrown at them and the liars finally go through with their true intent, they are left with nothing. No, the world is cruel, and if one sees it that way, they will be wiser in who to trust if they do not trust anyone. They do not get things taken away.”  
I snickered. “Look at us, Ciel. We’re here, in a little hotel room in a nameless town without Sebastian or the servants. I’d say we have a lot that was taken away.”  
“ Only temporarily. One thing I know about Sebastian is there is never a time when he is late. If I called for him, he would be here. However, I am not, for the mere calling of his name might signal whatever brought us here. Also, there is no way we could have prepared for whatever happened in the hallway that night.”  
“ That is true.” I said, “But what would want us? I’m a monster, I’m a demigod and even though I can do a lot with things in the monster world-”  
“You're still the son of Hades.” Said Ciel, “however, yes, there is not many reasons for them to bring me. Sebastian would find you and take you back, but he’s going to do that regardless if not more urgently because the both of us are missing versus just you. Therefore, bringing me was either a mistake or a flaw in their plan.” Then he froze, and his eye opened wide. (Because one was covered with the eye patch, though I assumed it opened.) “Or they could be using me and the servants as bait, or the other way around.” Then his surprise faded into an evil yet alluring smile that curled on his lips. He had a dark and evil look in his eyes. To my utter astonishment, he laughed. Ciel, laughing? He never laughed, ever. “How interesting. They won’t win this game. No matter what happens, Nico, I will find you, even if it means hunting you down in the depths of Tartarus.”  
“ And I you.” I said, “Or you’ll escape and find me.”  
“I will obliterate anything that stands in our way.” Ciel’s eyes grew darker, and I doubted he’d listened to me. “I will destroy it till not a root of it remains. Nothing will oppose me. Nothing will take you away.”

***

       “Luka, you little pervert what the hell are you doing in my bed?” Delilah yelped, and pushed me off before I had time to react.  
“I wasn’t sleeping well! Usually Hannah gives me a hug before I go to bed and I was really worried.” I said, and she growled.

“You could at least say, oh, I don’t know, ‘hey Delilah! I can’t sleep and I want to sleep in your bed.’” She said, “Don’t EVER do that again.”  
“Yes ma’am!” I said, getting off the floor. “Now may I climb back in the bed?”  
She sighed and crashed back down on her pillows. “Fine.” I climbed back into the bed and turned away from her. “L-Luka?”  
“Yes?” I said, turning to her.

“You’re okay, right? I didn’t hurt you, right?” She said, and I nodded.

“Nope! I’m fine.” I said, “Sorry for scaring you.”  
“It’s okay, Luka.” Said Delilah, and she was sleeping within seconds, then I turned around and slept.

***  
   
          Annabeth let me stay in her tent that night. “There are 28 campers in total. My cabin is for two, and one bunk is empty. It wasn’t really intended for a monster.”  
“ It was for Percy, then.” I said following behind her, “you must miss him, and be assuming he’ll come here.”  
“Yes.” Said Annabeth, “Campers who have been here don’t even realize it.”  
“Hey, I wasn’t a world-class detective for nothing.” I said, “But thanks for letting me have the spare bunk. I don’t sleep, so that’s somewhat pointless, but at least I have somewhere to sit at night. Do you have any computers by any chance?”  
“ Only my laptop which I let no one touch.” Then she looked at me. “No.”  
“Okay.” I said, “I can live without a computer I guess.” She opened the flap to her tent, and I went in. It was rather neat, and sure enough, her laptop lay opened on the table that was in the middle of the tent. I sat on the bed with the untouched sheets. By the look of the sheets on Annabeth’s bed, I’d woken her up. “Sorry for waking you up.”  
“No, I wasn’t sleeping anyways.” She said with a sad look in her eyes, “I can’t sleep here.”  
“Okay.” I said, sitting on the bunk.

“Do you always sit like that?”  
“Yes, my deduction levels would drop 40% if I didn’t.”  
“Interesting.” Experimentally, she pulled her legs up against her torso and sat like I did. “This is really uncomfortable.”  
“You get used to it.” I said, “Just takes a little while.” I looked around the cabin, making notes about Annabeth. 1. For the most part, she was neat. 2. She had a sharp wit and was really smart. 3. She really missed Percy (but anyone could see that really.) 4. She was an architect. The list went on. “You can tell so much about a person by the place they stay in.”  
“I can tell a lot about you too, L.”  
“Oh really? Give me a few examples.” I said, and she smiled.  
“Well, you obviously don’t sleep, you’re really quirky, you like indoors and electronics, you eat sweets a lot, and you try your hardest to be a good older sibling.” Said Annabeth, and I nodded.

“Correct.” I paused, “so you believe me about Nico.”  
“I’m beginning to.” Said Annabeth, “We all try to be good older siblings, L. We’re really all we have for each other-our parents try their best though the gods and goddesses in general only care about themselves.”

“Yes, I realize that.” I said, looking around. I heard the sound of a violin. “My protector is here.”  
“What?”  
“Hades sent his Earls to protect his sons and daughter.” I said, “Earl Erik is my protector, Earl Ciel is Nico’s, Earl Alois and Earl Luka are Dante’s, and Earl Soma protects Hazel. My protector happens to be the Phantom of the Opera.”  
“ You mean he’s real?” Said Annabeth, “ The Phantom, as in the one they made a musical and book about, the one who’s _not supposed to be_ real?”  
“Yes.” I said, “But he is real, but hey, if the gods and goddesses are real, what stops him from being so? No one in the real world knows he exists. In fact, he’s the one who tells me most of the stuff about demigods because he thinks it’s good for me to know my cousins.”

“God blood doesn’t count though.”  
“Yes, I know, but still. I consider you people my cousins.” I said, “That’s either him or a slayer. However, I know the sound of his violin because it’s a violin from 1750-it was vintage when he bought it but he tuned it and continually tunes it. He treats it like gold. He’s has two. One is from Christine Daae’s Dad, which was made in 1801. He’s playing the 1750 violin, he just tuned it, and he's using his favorite bow.”  
“ I think it’s safe to say we can take a chance.” She said, taking a dagger and handing me one too.

“Thanks, I prefer hand to hand combat, but whatever.” I said, and we both got up.

***  
  
        “L! You seem to have found your cousin.” I said, putting my violin down. The slayers stood behind me, and Krista nodded at L in a silent greeting. I looked at Annabeth. “Hello, Mademoiselle Chase, or are you Madame Jackson by now?”

“Holy shit he is the Phantom of the Opera.” She said, and the slayers pushed Krista and I into the barrier before disappearing in a flash of light. I got up, helped Krista up, and brushed myself off.

“Yes, I happen to be.” I offered my hand she shook it.

“I’m Annabeth, but you seem to know that already.” Annabeth said, and then she looked around.

“So, shall we figure out a way out of this place?” I said, turning around to face the barrier.

“We’ve been trying for 3 weeks and nothing has worked.” Said Annabeth, “Even the monsters can’t get out of it.”

“I’ve seen a barrier like this before.” I said, “That was when Delilah and I went out of the country as we do on not so rare occasions. It was in Kansas; slayers had trapped demons in a cornfield and were killing them off by the masses. The slayers had a key to open this, a reverse of what they used to lock us in. If we can duplicate that key, we can find a way out. However, we would need the key.”  
“ Obviously.” Said Annabeth, “but it’s more so of the question how are we going to get the key.”  
“Someone needs to get out to get the key, and we can’t get out.” Said L, “so, we really are trapped unless someone has the print of the key.”  
Krista smirked, and pulled out a piece of notebook paper. “This is the key.” She smiled proudly, “dumb asses locked me in the room where they made it. However, the key is made up of stuff like celestial bronze and nitroglycerin.”  
“ We have those.” Said Annabeth, “looks like we’re making a key.”  
  
***  
  
        Leo fell asleep on the rock, and I got up and decided to explore the place I was. I slipped into a few cabins, looking into the demigod’s dreams, looking at the things they invented or were planning. By the time that was over, it was nearly dawn. Leo looked a little cold, so I took a blanket from the cabin and draped it around him. It then dawned on me that he was the only friend I had acquired since I was nine, and said previous friend died when the temperature dropped one night. I could still remember his face, cold, his pulse unmoving. I cried, remembering that I thought that all I brought to people was death, and never bonded with anyone again until Alois. However, things had changed. I sat next to Leo on the rock, for some reason my mind was racing hoping he wouldn’t die. I tried to calm myself down, but the image of my past friend, James, frozen in the cold overcame my mind. He was older than me and looked out for me, but then he was gone like the wind. He protected me from monsters, he always wore a lot of cologne, and the monsters hated the smell. It masked me too. When he died, the bottle froze, and the monsters ate him. One pinned me and made me watch the other eat James. When thinking about it, I wondered how I hadn’t gone completely insane sooner. Leo finally woke up. “Hey Dante.” He said, looking at the blanket. “Thanks.”  
“Merely didn’t want you to freeze, Leo.” I said, “Once I had a friend named James. A bit older than me, great kid, wore cologne that the monsters hated. They never came around. One night he froze to death and I never made friends again because I thought I brought death. The monsters ate him, one pinned me and made me watch them eat him entirely. I was nine.”  
“ You had it pretty rough then.” Said Leo, “what happened to your Mom?”  
“A monster killed her.” I said, “When I was nine; a lot of bad things happened then. We were homeless, and the monsters took everything I earned. Stole my first pair of glasses and only owned a sharpie marker. I suffered a lot, and not only because of them. People took advantage of my being alone in so many different ways.” I shivered, “never again. Ever since Alois found me, I’ve been living the life I’ve always dreamed about. What happened you your Mum?”  
“ She died in a fire at her machine shop.” Said Leo with a downcast look, “she was all I had too.”  
“Well, we can agree on one thing.”  
“Our lives suck?”  
“Our lives suck.”  
  
***  
  
       I opened the train car door and sat, looking outside at the sunrise. “How many more hours now, Hannah?” I asked, turning to her.

“Still over a day, Master.” She said, sitting next to me. “I’m sorry.”  
“It isn’t your fault, Hannah. Nothing is ever your fault.” I said, “When in doubt, blame Claude for everything.”  
She chuckled, and then smiled. “Master, I would kill him at any time.”  
“Oh, I know you can and would, however, I don’t know.” I said, “I can’t bring myself to kill him.”

“You don’t have to, Master.” Said Hannah, “I believe he is paying the price for his crimes." She smiled softly, "I have waited a long time for this.”  
“ Yes, I know you have.” I agreed, “longer than I must wait to get to Dante.” I looked at the swaying bodies again. " Over a day." 


	11. Reunions

***

        Nico and I talked for a lot of the time. I decided that perhaps leaving the hotel room was a bad idea, and so we stayed there. Eventually, the both of us were tired. “I want to sleep again.” I told him, lying down on the bed.

“Well, I promise to be here when you get up.” Said Nico, lying next to me. “I’m not tired. I’ll keep watch over you.”  
“ Nico, it is I who should be watching you.” I said, and he smiled.

“I’ll be fine, Ciel.” Said Nico, “or should I make you some tea?”  
“Some tea would be nice.” I said, and he got up from the bed and into the small kitchenette. He used the Keurig brewer in the corner to make me some tea. When he handed it to me, and I took a long sip of it before he sat next to me on the bed. The tea was just the way I like it. “You know how I like my tea,” I noted.  
“I do. I figured I might as well make it since Sebastian’s not here.” Nico looked towards the drawn shades. “Ciel…” he looked at me, sighed, and looked away, “Never mind.”  
“What is it?” I said, “If you remain unspoken I’m sure you’ll regret it later on.”  
“Was the thing that is inside the barrier the children of the Big Three?” Nico said, turning back to me.

“Wherever the children of the Big Three are, I will not allow you to make contact with them. If L and Dante are missing, no doubt they have already told the half bloods in some way you are alive. However, the demigods need proof you are alive, and the word of two monsters is no enough proof. No, I believe that the only proof that will convince them is you in person, right before their eyes.”  
“ I have to agree.” Nico said, “You haven’t answered my question, Ciel.”  
“You do not truly want or need to know the answer.” I said, “I will not let myself give it to you.”

“Shall I use the fact you can’t lie to me to my advantage?” Nico said with a cruel smile, “I don’t want to have to.”  
“Nico, I must keep you alive. This is my job.” I said, I could not let them see him again. It would endanger him more than he thought, or perhaps he did think yet he just didn’t care. He remained silent, and I stayed silent as well.

“ What if I can promise you that I’ll live?”  
“ You can’t promise that. There is always a chance that something will arise.”  
“ Ciel.” Nico sighed and laid next to me on the bed. “ I suppose you’re right.”  
“ I knew you would see reason.” I put the cup of tea on the nightstand, and he put his arm around me, then pulled me closer to him. He knew I loved his embrace, and there wasn’t a way for me to hide it. “ I never thought that I would enjoy something like this.”

“ Me too.” Nico said, “ But I suppose we do like it. We should do this more often.”  
“ Agreed.” I said, curling up against him.

***  
  
     The key didn’t take very long to make, and when we did put it in the entrance, it didn’t work. “ We did everything according to this thing.” Said Annabeth looking at the replica, “ it couldn’t have gone wrong.”  
“ Perhaps this isn’t the key.” I said, “ Perhaps we have the wrong one.”  
“ We don’t, L.” Said Krista, looking at the real key.

“ The key is important,” I said, “ perhaps when the exorcists found that the directions were missing, they made a new key with different elements. In short, now there is no way out.”

“ This powerful barrier, with a very skilled rune-making exorcist, could take 20 minutes. It took us a day to make that key and most of our resources.” Erik sighed, “ Why didn’t I think of this before?”  
Annabeth sighed, “ Well that takes us back to square one.”  
“ Less than square one really.” Erik said, touching the barrier. It burnt his hand, and he pulled it away, watching it heal. “ Damn thing got stronger because they added another layer onto it.” There was a shrill monster like cry in the distance and screaming. Annabeth’s face turned worried.

“ They melted half the weapons to make that thing.” She said, running off. Erik ran behind her and Krista and I followed behind. That was when I finally saw Erik in full-fight mode.

       Erik swung from a tree and hit the monster with his foot, sending the monster back. The monster’s recoil gave him time to grab a boulder (super strength is a vampire attribute) from around the fire and fling it at the monster, sending it onto it’s back. Before the monster had time to begin to torch the cabins, he pulled out a rope that one of the Ares kids left as a trap and strangled it. It hollered in pain before Erik used the snapped neck for his advantage, having time to grab a sword and chop off its head. It dissolved into dust. Erik looked back to the demigods assembled in various places. “ Is everyone alright?” He asked Annabeth, and she nodded. The fight in total, according to Krista’s watch, took 25 seconds.  
“ You really are on our side.” Annabeth said, a little shocked. Erik nodded.

“ Mademoiselle, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done so a long time ago.” Said Erik, “ however, I have been assigned to kill you. I refuse to do it, and that is why you and the others from the Tartarus Event are still living. Hades has said the order was called over, and he refuses to kill me because of my power. You defeated the first four Earls without knowing it.”  
“ So it ended with you?” The girl was definitely a child of Ares.

“ Yes.” Said Erik, “ it ended with me.”  
“ There is a chance the exorcists have hacked into the Earl’s meetings.”  
There was silence so I explained myself more.

“ The exorcists left the demigods alone before probably because they had no idea that they existed. However, the Earls brought up the demigods again, and this happened, so they did this after the time of Gaea. And they brought Erik here when Erik is assigned to kill you, Annabeth, and anyone else who went to Tartarus. They’ve already sent monsters, and they must know that Erik isn’t intending on killing you because he would have done that long ago, so they send more. When I was here and Erik came, there were no monsters, not even a sound in the woods.” I said, “ That is because they were waiting for Erik to strike. The only way they could find out about Erik, the other earls, and the demigods is by being hacked because things like that are spread. They also knew to split you up, more than likely knowing how powerful you are together.” I looked around at them; they looked confused and slightly frightened. “ Or, they could have realized monsters and demigods were linked, so they captured them and they do not fully understand that I am a monster. Somehow, both seem equally probable.” Erik looked horrified.  
“ Damn exorcists.” He said, his hands shook, “ they’re my problem…I’m supposed to-”  
“ You said before they’re tricky.” I said, “ remember, Erik, there’s still half a chance-”  
“ Half a chance it’s all my fault.” Erik said, “ They could destroy the Earls. Every single one and everyone associated with them.” He let out a sound that sounded like both a sigh and a laugh. “ That’s you, Krista,” his voice shook, “ and you, L.” I’d never heard him like that.

“ Everyone’s fallible.”

“ I’m not supposed to be.” He hid his masked face with his hand and walked around Annabeth, taking the dagger from her sheath. “ I’ve always been a coward, L. I’ve failed…”

“ Erik no!” Krista said, and he turned to her.

“ I couldn’t even win the love of Christine, I was too cowardly to end myself then. I made everything so perfect for my exit from this world…then that too was ruined. Delilah will take my place…she’ll do a better job then me.”  
“ Delilah is a child.” Krista said, “ you said so yourself.”

“ One more life to ruin, Krista, that seems to be all I’ve done in this world.”  
“ But do you really think that she can deal with everything that you do?”  
“ Yes.”  
“ Really?”  
“ No.”  
“ Then why don’t we be rational, eh? Give Annabeth back her dagger.”  
“ Krista, I’ll be killed and hated…not to different from my human years. Just when I thought-” I clenched my hands. I had to help Krista, yet I couldn’t find the words.

“ HALF.” I repeated, “ There is HALF a chance-” So that was what I said. That’s all I said. “ It’s not you.”  
“ Then who is it, L?” He said, the look in his eyes killing me. I’d seen that look in other people’s eyes, but never had I seen it in person. Seeing them in Erik’s eyes…they looked different. You knew he’d been wronged and that he was determined to make that the last time. I pitied him, and I didn’t want him to do that to himself. He was the person who seemed the pay the most attention to me, and I did spend a lot of time with him. He’d been the only person since Watari that I’d looked up too. I wasn't good with emotions, I didn't know how to stop him from what he was doing. It wasn't like with BB when all I had to do was have Naomi Misora figure things out; now it was just me, me and Krista, whom had already given her attempt. Now that it was my turn I didn't know what to do. 

“ Just don’t.” I said, I didn’t have any other explanation. “ Please, please don’t.” Then I thought of something. I didn’t know if it would work, but I had to try. There was no talking down Erik, and he was stronger than me, so if I tried to physically stop him I might hurt him and myself. I knew that almost as much as I knew that there was a half and half chance. “ As son of Hades, I order you to put that dagger down.” And, for a few seconds, nothing happened. And in those few seconds, as the dagger pointed at Erik’s chest and my heartbeat so fast I swore it was going to stop, the dagger disappeared, and was in Annabeth’s sheath.

“ Damn.” Erik whispered, and I think we were all shocked.

The silence of awe overpowered everyone, and no one spoke until an Athena kid who was young, maybe 8 or 9. “ Does it work with owls?”

***

 _“ You can’t promise that. There is always a chance that something will arise.”_ It was Ciel’s way of saying, _“don’t leave me here alone.”_ I knew that, I knew him. He’d fallen asleep against me, holding me tighter than usual. “ I won’t leave, Ciel.” I promised him, even though he couldn’t hear me. When I thought about it, the deepest part of whatever was in place of my soul told me I didn’t mean what I’d said; I said it out of spite to see if Ciel would care. I didn’t want to look for the other demigods or go to see what was really behind that barrier. I didn’t know why, and I looked around inside myself to find where the urge for that would be and there was nothing. No soul, no remorse. It’d faded, just as it was supposed too. It took me a while to figure out that the reason that I didn’t care was because of the fact that I now lacked a soul. It made sense, or at least I told myself that. All in all, it was Ciel’s fault as much as it was mine that I felt that way. It was always Ciel…it had always been Ciel…and even thought I hadn’t wanted to admit he was right before, Sebastian was right about how I was meant to be with demon as well as a soulless monster. It really was fitting for me. But why did I have to keep reminding myself of this? I had come to that realization before and accepted it, but I came to it again and again, glossing over it over and over. Maybe it’s because I would never fully accept it, so I had to keep reminding myself about it. I didn’t know.

        During my thought, I hadn’t realized I’d held Ciel tighter, so he woke up and looked up at me. I let him go, and he turned away from me, looking at the tea. The steam that rose from it had ceased long ago. Ciel gently pulled away from my embrace, sat up, and held the cup in his hands. In a few seconds, steam came from the cup again, and he sipped the tea. I didn’t question him, he was Ciel. “ I was thinking about after this,” said Ciel, “ because the Earls seem to be alright with you, I will bring you to the Underworld to live in the mansion I own there for a while, at least until things are safe for you. I’m sure the other Earls in the household will do the same. We all live in houses away from each other, so I believe you probably won’t see your brothers until it is safe.”

“ How long is that?” I asked, “ a few weeks, a few years?”  
“ Whenever it is safe. There are no guarantees on time.” Said Ciel, “ I refuse to lose you to the enemy.”

“ I understand, Ciel.” I said, “ And I’ll go along with your plans.”  
  
***  
  
      “ The end to this is here.” I proclaimed, and Leo looked at me with a confused look on his vaguely elfish face.

“ What?”  
“ You heard me. The end to all of this is coming soon. Your liberator is on his way, and for once I don’t mean Alois.” I said, “ They are coming to set us free.”  
“ Who? What?”  
 _“ Oes angen i mi ddweud ei fod mewn iaith arall, Leo, maent yn dod!”_

“ Dear gods he’s speaking in tongues!”  
“ It’s Welsh get your facts straight.” I said, “ but Percy and those guys are coming to liberate this place soon.”  
“ How do you know?”  
“ I can see the future. I tell it to Alois all the time, but he’s just sworn to secrecy by yours truly.”

“ All the time?”  
“ Sometimes.” I said as Leo recalled a memory of a fortuneteller woman. “ I’m not like her. I’ve realized I’m not like anyone, actually. I am me and no one else.”  
“ And who are you?”  
“ I do not know anymore. The only thing absolute for me is Alois.”  
“ So, you are Alois?”  
“ No, but I am run by Alois.”  
“ So, he’s like your boss?”  
“ No.”  
“ Then, what is he?”  
“ He is what completes me, what runs me.”  
“ So, like a mystical being.”  
“ Yes, he is that I suppose.” I paused, “ either way, you will never see him. I will be gone before that.” I looked down. “ This is the last time I am going to see you, Leo. Stead fast and god-speed, my friend.” And I shadow-traveled to the border and jumped onto a fast moving train.

***

    Their reunion was quite the sight to behold, actually.

Yes indeed.

They were overly happy.

There was hugging,

And kissing,

And tears because they were so happy.

And we three watched,

Half frozen by the meat locker.

We were frozen by the meat locker.

With carcasses going sway-sway-sway.

They were gross.

But Master Dante and Master Alois were cute.

Indeed.

So happy.

So insane.

So cute.

That was they.

That was our Masters.

The little cuties.


	12. The Descent to the Underworld

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Past one-sided Sebasciel is mentioned.

 

 

***

 

        “ L.” Dante laughed at me in the dream. It was very dark, yet I could still see his pale features in the light. 

“ Dante?” 

“ Yes, brother.” Dante smiled and chuckled. “ You’re so far away from us! When are you coming home?” 

“ What do you mean, I’m trapped here?” 

“ Silly thing.” Dante laughed. “ Don’t you know you can escape by the train that passes through there?”

“ I would be a coward if I left Annabeth and the other demigods alone. I can’t become more of a coward than I already am.” I explained to him, and he shook his head, a hint of a smirk on his lips. 

“ Percy is coming to free them. You should leave, brother, or are you staying to vie over the love of Annabeth?" 

“I don’t have any feelings for Annabeth, Dante.” 

“ I know, just messing with you.” Dante frowned, “but I want you to come home, Dante. Alois wants to take me to the Underworld to live in the mansion there with him and no doubt the others will do the same. I want to see you one last time at least.” He gave a weak smile and gave me a hug. “Plus there are people who will attack and I don’t want you to get caught in the melee.” 

“What if you’re wrong?” 

“Have I ever been?” 

Thinking back suddenly to the sessions of telling the future to Alois, I remembered that Dante never was. Gradually everything started to fade. 

           Something soft hit my head and I looked at Annabeth. Her hair was frizzy and she looked half-asleep. I noted the pillow on the ground. “You’ve been tossing and turning.” She said, “What happened to you not sleeping?” 

“Sorry. Even I doze off sometimes.” I said, “Thanks for waking me up; I prefer to be awake really.” 

“ You’re not being sarcastic, are you? It’s too late to deal with this.” 

“ Actually, it’s 1 AM.” 

“ Ugh.”  Annabeth smacked back down on the pillows. 

“You haven’t been sleeping all night and I fell asleep for what, 20 minutes or so? Is anything wrong?” 

“ You know what’s wrong.” Annabeth said turning over on her side to face me. “There’s nights like this where he’s the only thing I think about.” 

“Well, if it makes you any better, the person in the dream I had told me that he was coming.” I said, and she rubbed her eyes. 

“I can’t believe that, and it’s not because you’re a vampire.” Said Annabeth, “he would have come sooner-unless he’s hurt or worse.” 

“Look, Annabeth, I’m sure that no god or goddess is ever going to pull that disappearing-memory act on the two of you ever again. Percy is Percy, I’m sure that he’s going to be fine.” I said, “You survived Tartarus, the Labyrinth, and now Erik won’t kill you. You know why? Because he knows you two are unstoppable.” She seemed more hopeful so I continued. “You’re going to get back together. Hell, I’m sure you’ll die together.” I just kept talking until her eyes closed and I was sure she was asleep.

       I got off the bed and went outside. I glanced above me at the stars. There were more of them there then by the house in England, mainly because the house in England was really close to London. “Is she alright, L?” I turned to see Erik. He sat on a tree stump, which was left from the tree the Ares cabin chopped up for firewood and other wooden weapons. Due to his height, it would be reasonable to believe that that stump was the only place where he could sit and still be comfortable. 

“She’s fine now,” I reported, “she couldn’t sleep because she was thinking about Percy, so I told her some stuff and she fell asleep.” 

Erik’s eyes glanced up at the stars. “What was I thinking about this afternoon, L? Like you said there is half a chance this is not my fault.” 

“ Erik, you’re not obligated to kill petty slayers, correct?” I said, and he nodded. 

“Something needs to keep the population in check.” Said Erik, “so yes, I only kill them if ordered to do so by Lord Hades. If they do not attack me, then I leave the petty ones alone.” 

“ Perhaps it was petty slayers who Hades and you had no idea about who broke in if that is the case.” I said, “Look at Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. Percy and Annabeth were 12 when they went into the Underworld and they managed their way into the palace of Hades. They barely knew what they were doing. It’s very likely that the petty slayers who you had no idea about could have managed their way in.” 

“Yes, L, but humans fade if they are in the Underworld for too long.” Erik said, “however, if they left before that time-” 

“Then they could have gotten the information they needed and left. What if they’re watching us right now, I wonder.” I looked around at the trees. 

“ I need to tell you something.” Said Erik, “ L, when this is over, we will return very briefly to London, and then we shall go to my home in the Underworld.” 

“I want to see you one last time at least.”  I remembered Dante saying. He was right after all. “ I have no objections.” I said, “ This world holds a lot of painful memories for me.” 

Erik nodded, “ as it does for me.” 

 

***

       There was a gentle hand shaking me to wake up. The first night back in my own bed felt nice, and after not going outside of the darkened hotel room for days as a precaution, I never thought I would say that the sunlight streaming through my window was a welcomed sight. It had happened simple enough, Sebastian and the servants came and we were somehow able to shadow-travel home by nighttime in England. “ Good morning Master Nico.” Sebastian took his hand off my shoulder and I sat up groggily in my bed. 

“ I never thought I would be happy to see the sun, Sebastian.” I said, “ Also I won’t be seeing it for a while, considering that in a few days we are going to the Underworld.” 

“ Indeed,” said Sebastian, pulling back the curtains to let more natural light into the room. “ I thought you would prefer darkness, Master Nico.” 

“ I do.” I said, “ That will never change. However, wouldn’t be a bad thing to get some sun before I might not see it for ten or twenty years.” 

“ Who said that it would be for that long?” Sebastian said, tilting his head. “ I will talk to whoever did.” 

“ No, it wasn’t the servants, Sebastian. I think you’re punishing Finny enough because of the fact he loves the outdoors, and that includes sunlight.” I said, “ It was a personal assumption.” 

“ Well, we may stay there for 20, 30 years, 20, 30 months, 20, 30 weeks or 20, 30 days. There is nothing absolute when one is going into hiding.” Sebastian said, “ No soul is brave enough to look for you where we are going.” 

“ To Ciel’s house in the Underworld-that’s beyond the carted walls of the Underworld.” I said, and Sebastian nodded. 

“ Which no hero in written history dared go out of.” Said Sebastian, “ and there is a reason why you don’t hear about the ones who go there. It is peaceful except for the usual things you’d suspect demons and monsters in their natural home to be doing, but that is entirely different to a human and no, Master Nico, it is nothing like Tartarus.” He smiled, “ you might even go into shock.” 

“ I really don’t think I will.” Thoughts of Tartarus came up in my mind and I tried to keep them at bay. 

When I went downstairs to breakfast, Dante, Alois, and Luka were there, no one else. I wasn’t worried about Ciel, I knew he was okay. I tried to not let my mind wander to the path of thoughts about Hazel and L. “ I spoke to them last night.” Dante said, “ When Jackson comes and frees them, then he will come back to us.” 

“ And what of Hazel?” I said, “ You seem to have forgotten about her.” 

“ I cannot find her nor Soma and Agni.” Said Dante, “ We might have to face the most probable fact as an explanation to an imperceptible problem, Nico.” 

“ Don’t say it like that.” 

“ I don’t have any other way to say it.” 

          I felt like something broke inside me again, just when I thought I was almost back together. It had chipped away when I found that Hazel and L were not back at the house, and now it was just broken and everything felt hollow. I was sure Dante felt it too, because the peppy, insane light that was in his eyes seemed to have dulled immensely. We both knew the truth of what was likely to happen. In a sick and twisted way, it brought us together because we were all we had left other than the demons. 

Delilah sat at the table with Madame Giry. I took in the fact that only Delilah had a little sadness in her eyes and Madame Giry had none. “ L is alive.” Dante said, comforting himself. “ Yes, L is alive, absolutely. As are Erik and Krista. They have to be alive, I saw L last night. They have to be alive.” I wondered if Dante hadn’t made the conversation in his subconscious and didn’t know it.  It seemed like he was forcing himself to believe that L was alive. 

“ He wouldn’t want you to pretend he was alive.” I said, and Dante shook his head. 

“ No!” His voice was hysterical. 

      Then there was a knock on the door. Dante and I both ran to get it, however, he tripped me and opened the door. There was L, Erik, and Krista. “ My home in the Underworld is in the French quarter of the Underworld.” Said Erik to L, “ you know French, correct?” 

L nodded, “ that means we’ll be even farther than you’d think.” 

“ Where’s Hazel?” I said, “ She’s not with you either?” I punched Dante in the arm for tripping me. 

“ No, no one knows where Hazel is.” L shook his head, “ fuck, even now our family isn’t together.” He walked back into the house and looked around. “ I should start getting my computers and stuff.” I grabbed his sleeve before he was past me. “ I want to help.” 

“ Alright.” He said, and we walked to his room. 

       I began to unplug his mess of computer cords and for a while it was all silence. Surprisingly, he was the one to start to talk. “This is going to be odd, not having you two around.” Said L, “ I was finally getting used to having a family of my own.” 

“ Me too. However, we’ll just have to move along. I mean, it’s for our own good, right?” 

“ Right.” Said L, “ You know Nico I’m really going to miss you.” 

“ You too, L.” I said as he started moving the computers into a refrigerator sized cardboard box. He put his bedding in between them as well as his clothes, and I helped pack them down. 

“ Is Sebastian packing your stuff?” 

“ No I think Snake is.” I said, “ Sebastian’s probably helping him though. This feels odd, L. It really does.” 

“ Hey at least you won’t have to switch languages.” Said L, “ I’ll have to speak French where I’m going.” 

“ Ciel’s mansion is in the English quarter, as is Alois’s, however it’s over a 800 klicks away.” I told him, and he nodded. “ Things are going to change so much.” I thought about it, once I was torn from my home which was Camp Half-Blood, and finally adjusted to my home in England, and not I would have to be torn yet again from that place and placed in the English Quarter of the Underworld.” 

“ That’s just the way the sons of Hades are. Drifting from place to place…never have a solid place to call home.” L said, “ There is a chance that once we leave here, I’ll never see you or Dante again. There is a chance you’ll never see Hazel again.” 

“ I know.” I said grimly, trying to keep the scenarios in my mind at bay. 

“ L!” A chipper little voice came through the door and he opened it. 

“ Hello Delilah.” He said, letting her in. “ I asked Nico to help me, so.” He closed the door. “ However it gives you an opportunity to skip out of work.” Delilah sat in L’s chair. 

“ Moving is so much work.” She groaned, “ Why can’t we just stay here and kill slayers?” 

“ Because slayers always aren’t that easy to kill.” L said simply, “ you’re welcome to take a nap.” She was already asleep. L shook his head. 

“ Krista is human. She can’t go to the Underworld, so what’s going to happen to her?” 

“ Well, she was going to be a vampire.” 

“ And, she’s not?” 

“ Yeah, turns out she comes from a generation of slayers-her Uncle’s in the Council of Slayers. However, she is going to be a vampire once things are sorted out, and Madame Giry is going to make her one so she's staying with Krista.” 

“ So, they're going to stay here,” I said, “ and sort stuff out.” 

“ Yes.” Said L, “ even though there’s a 98% chance that her plan is going to veer off course. A good 30% goes to a problem she can solve, and possibly, 70% ends in death.” 

“ Have you told her these figures?” 

“ Yes.” 

“ I figured Krista was the type to do so.” I looked at Delilah, the box, the mostly empty room. “ I think I’ll go, see if Sebastian’s packed everything yet.” I said, and L nodded. A small smiled curled on his lips, and he gave me a hug. I had never hugged L except in an awkward group hug with Dante. It occurred to me that that might be the last time I’d hug my older brother, the person who’d watched out for me in his own way, who’d shared his familial love mostly in silence. L must have known everything about me if he watched me on his cameras, and in a way, I felt unfulfilled. I felt as though I barely knew him yet he probably knew almost everything about me. “ I know you’ll be okay, Nico.” Said L, then he patted me on the back and let me go. 

“ I know you’ll be okay too.” I said, “ Until then.” 

“ Until then.” He said, and I left the room, knowing he was watching me as I left. 

        “ Hello Master.” Sebastian drew the curtains in my room and continued to pack my things into a cardboard box. Oddly enough, I trusted Sebastian with this job. I didn’t know why, but I did. I sat on my bare mattress and watched him open the closet and pack the few possessions I kept in there, which included my Stygian Ice sword. Sebastian held it in his gloved hands and surveyed it. “ A work of art, truly.” He noted, swinging it. 

“ Hey!” I said defensively, “ that's my sword.” 

“ I’m terribly sorry Master I couldn’t help myself.” He laid the blade in his hands and offered it to me. I looked at my reflection in the black chrome like blade. “ You would carry it around in the Underworld or so it was said. Never let it leave your hand’s reach.” I looked over to him. “ And I wonder what possessed you ever to stop.” 

“ I beg your pardon?” I said, and he snickered. 

“ You would carry it everywhere even in the camp. When you got here, I took it off your back and placed it into this closet. After that, there were very few days I ever saw you with it, and I am curious to why.” Sebastian said, and I shrugged. The hilt lay beside me, and I swung it around my back and placed my sword in it. It felt more alien than it had before. 

“ I don’t know, really.” I said, “ I never really thought about it. Maybe it’s because I began to trust Ciel.” I shrugged, “ guess that means I trust you too, Sebastian.” 

“ Thank you, Master.” He said simply, “ I’ve never seen him act the way he does around you towards anyone else.” 

“ I can only assume, Sebastian.” I said, “ I’m not like L, I can’t make observations in 2 seconds, or like Dante who can read people’s minds. I’m just kind of here.” 

“ Not really, Master.” Said Sebastian, “ You’ve been useful, both in the past, and now in the present. Only now you are surrounded by different people with different purposes, and your purpose has changed, which is why you feel this way. It’s common for humans mostly, however, you are a vampire who seems to cling to their beliefs they had as a human, which isn’t bad I suppose. After all, my Master still has some of his traits from when he was a human. We don’t need to eat human food, yet he does, and so do you. One hundred years from now, you may both eat only the meals you need, and you might have fully lost that human part of yourselves.” 

“ Are you saying I won’t feel the same way about Ciel?” I said, and he shook his head. 

“ No, Master has done too much for you to stop caring about you ever at this point. What is that expression you’d use…getting what you’ve paid for? Yes, that’s it. Besides, if both your human fade, I’m sure they’ll fade a similar way. That’ll be interesting, no doubt you’ll find yourselves interesting to one another as you both fade away. You’ll always love each other as far as I’m thinking. I think you’re made for each other.” Said Sebastian, “ that’s the way I see the two of you now and for eternity.”

“ I don’t know, really.” I said, “ I never really thought about it. Maybe it’s because I began to trust Ciel.” I shrugged, “ guess that means I trust you too, Sebastian.”   
“ Thank you, Master.” He said simply, “ I’ve never seen him act the way he does around you towards anyone else.”   
“ I can only assume, Sebastian.” I said, “ I’m not like L, I can’t make observations in 2 seconds, or like Dante who can read people’s minds. I’m just kind of here.”   
“ Not really, Master.” Said Sebastian, “ You’ve been useful, both in the past, and now in the present. Only now you are surrounded by different people with different purposes, and your purpose has changed, which is why you feel this way. It’s common for humans mostly, however, you are a vampire who seems to cling to their beliefs they had as a human, which isn’t bad I suppose. After all, my Master still has some of his traits from when he was a human. We don’t need to eat human food, yet he does, and so do you. One hundred years from now, you may both eat only the meals you need, and you might have fully lost that human part of yourselves.”   
“ Are you saying I won’t feel the same way about Ciel?” I said, and he shook his head.   
“ No, Master has done too much for you to stop caring about you ever at this point. What is that expression you’d use…getting what you’ve paid for? Yes, that’s it. Besides, if both your human sides fade, I’m sure they’ll fade a similar way. That’ll be interesting, no doubt you’ll find yourselves interesting to one another as you both fade away. You’ll always love each other as far as I’m thinking. I think you’re made for each other.” Said Sebastian with a soft smile, “ that’s the way I see the two of you now and for eternity.”  
“ I’m kind of surprised that you both think of us that way.” I said, “ I didn’t really think you did.”   
" Such similarities cannot be overlooked. The both of you are pessimists, have had horrors you have faced, confused feelings,” his smile grew. ” And a love for someone who would never share your affections.”   
" What?”   
" Once my Young Master had felt feelings for me that could be comparable to the feelings you had towards Percy. However, I took and continue to take no interest in that kind towards my Young Master,” Sebastian said. " Yet I do admit, in that time it was fun to tease and pretend to humor him while it lasted. The Young Master, after 50 years or so, gave up on me and rendered all of his affections.”   
" You know, Sebastian, you really are what people say about demons.” I said coldly, " because only a demon could ever do that to someone.” I sighed, then tilted my head. ” Why are you just telling me this now?”   
“ It’s not suitable for a butler to say or admit such things about their Masters. However, it’s tiring to think that way after everything, especially when it lasts this long.” Said Sebastian, “ you should hear what the other servants say.” He smiled, “ and only exclusively the Phantomhive servants, of course.”   
“ I can imagine,” I said, “ that you reprimand them for such behavior.”   
“ Yes my Lord, I do.” Said Sebastian, “ what kind of a head servant would I be if I did not?” He put the tape over the cardboard box, and that was the last of my things. 

“ So, we’re leaving?” I said as he piled the two boxes and picked them up. 

“ Yes, this is it.” Sebastian said, and he began to walk out of the room before he turned to me. “ Whenever you’re ready, Master Nico,” then left. I took the key to the room from the drawer of my nightstand, took one last look around the room, then walked out, locking the door behind me. 

         The house looked the same but it felt empty. I knew Dante was walking behind me, and I turned to him. “ So..” he said, “ this is it.” 

I nodded, “ yeah I guess so.” 

We both gave each other an sort of awkward hug. “ You know I’m going to miss you.” Dante said, “ don’t get yourself into too much trouble, okay.” 

“ I’ll be sure not too.” I said, and he sighed. 

“ You’re really the only one who knows just what I was like when Alois found me.” He held me a little tighter. “ And because of that, you are one of the people I hold most dear.” Then he let me go and walked down the hallway, disappearing as soon as he turned the corner. 

 

      Downstairs, Ciel was waiting for me. He looked up at a small clock that lie on a table. “ You’re late.” Ciel said, “ I suppose I can never teach you punctuality, can I?” 

“ No.” I said, “ I guess I’m just forever late.” Ciel shrugged. 

“ I suppose you’re not that late.” He turned and I followed him out the door to where Sebastian held a car door open. Ciel got in first and I got in second, then he closed the door and got into the driver’s seat of the car. Next to him sat Finnian, who looked forlornly out the window at the sunny day as though he was trying to savor it. I didn’t want to break his concentration, so I didn’t say anything. 

“ Must we really leave, Mr. Sebastian?” Finny said, and Sebastian nodded. 

“ You know we must, Finny.” Sebastian said, and he started the car. Finnian looked like he was going to cry. I felt horrible in those few moments. “ But we will come back up here someday.” Finny nodded understandingly, then touched the window fondly before Sebastian put the car into a different gear and began to drive faster. Soon everything from out the window was a blur, and suddenly it all went dark.

      When the faint light returned, the interior of the car changed completely. The seats were made of some material and I was sitting across from Ciel. I looked out the window to see crammed streets filled with people in clothes from different centuries, Victorian, Gothic, 70’s, 20’s, you name it and someone on that street was wearing it. Outside I couldn’t hear the wheels of the car but the sound of horses, and Sebastian and Finnian were nowhere in sight. That was when I recognized the car was no longer a car. It was a carriage. Ciel’s clothing had changed too. It was now Victorian styled, which he looked wonderful in. If anyone could have pulled off that look, it was Ciel. I was wearing the same outfit I was before. 

I didn’t speak with him until I saw a small palace in the distance. “ That’s the house?” I said, and he nodded, looking out the window himself. “ You must be happy to be back in the Underworld.” 

“ Not happy but it seems more pleasurable.” Ciel smiled, “ this part of the Underworld is nothing like the one you know. You put me in your world, and now, I put you in mine.” 


	13. Council With Demons

 

***

 

     The French quarter of the Underworld only speaks French. After giving me an 8-hour crash course on the language L gave up trying to teach me, and when I opened the carriage window I could hear French. I mean I could pick out a few words and simple phrases. The people outside looked like they were dressing up for a historical convention, then I realized that some really were that old and liked to dress that way. I fought the urge to yell “Get into the 21st Century!” out the window because that would have been rude. I sighed, realizing I wouldn’t understand Mr. Erik anymore. 

      We stopped at a townhouse in the heart of the city. I knew that wasn’t the house because it would have looked like a mansion, so I squinted. Mister Erik got off the carriage and knocked on the door. A man opened it, and smiled at Erik. They began to speak, and soon the other man frowned. He didn’t look French, or at least I thought so. “He has an accent.” Said L, “wait…the Persian?” 

“What?” The man talking to Erik seem to know his address, and he smiled at us before walking up to the carriage. “Shit L I hate socializing this early in the morning!” 

“Bon Jour, you must be that Delilah child that Erik told me about.” Said the Persian guy to me. “He’s seems very proud of your slaying ability.” 

“He is? Wait I know he is.” 

The man turned from me which I thought was rude but then I noticed he was looking at L. “It’s not every day you meet the son of Hades or the most infamous Wammy detective. He talks about you. Where is this Krista?” 

Erik stood behind him and tapped his shoulder. The man turned to him again. “Above with Madame Giry-she wants to settle a few things.” Mr. Erik said, “She’ll be here.” 

“I’m surprised you didn’t make Delilah do it. You seem to have more faith in her fighting abilities than Madame Giry’s.” Said the Persian, then he looked back to me, looking me up and down, then back at Erik. “You should come in and get some rest. 8 hours of driving a carriage does take a toll.” 

“ Ah, Daroga, you never change do you.” Erik said, “Come children.” He disappeared and I knew he was inside the house. 

“I am not a child!” I said, “I am manly as all hell!” The Daroga smirked, and I sighed as L opened the door to the carriage. 

“I believe what Erik means is that he classifies you both as his children.” The Daroga said, “He’s always lived a lonely life…he always wanted family. I don’t think he meant to mention your height.” 

“Oh…okay.” I said, “come to think of it he never mentions my height out loud.” 

“The image of himself which he paints with words has always been important.” Said Daroga, “like any artist he wishes others to see his work of art as he does. In the beginning, when others did not see it, it angered him. Then he accepted it as being a way things worked. He still strives for people to see his vision without being aware of it. I know him better than anyone.” 

“ That can be debated.” Said L, “I believe I know Erik very well, Daroga, and have less of a biased opinion on things.” 

“Oh, do you?” The Daroga narrowed his glance, “I knew you would say such things.” 

          The house was cold, and Erik sat in a large armchair in the Persian guy’s parlor. He was leaned back into it and the glare made the eyes of his mask look completely dark. A little creeped out by that, I stood a little more behind L. The Daroga sat in a chair and opened a small liquor cabinet. In a black flash, a man stood behind him. “Some wine is in order, Darius.” The Persian guy said to the zippy servant. 

“Yes sir.” He said and dashed off again, returning with two wine glasses. He handed one to the Persian guy and one to Erik. Erik tilted his head up. 

“Ah, my favorite.” Erik said, straightening up more. L went into the room and sat on a loveseat, and I sat next to him. “The Daroga is an Earl also, however, he refused the land given to him and wanted this townhouse.” L nodded, but I had no idea why that was such a big deal. I watched the wine slosh around in the glass as Erik’s hand moved around. It kinda looked like blood. 

“Hey Persian guy what kind of monster are you?” I asked him, and he was a little taken aback, that was when I realized I cut him off in the middle of a sentence. Madame Giry would always nag at me about how that wasn’t polite, as if I cared though. 

“I am a vampire, why?” 

“The wine looks like blood.” 

“It’s just wine.” Said the Daroga, “too much slaying.” 

“No, Daroga, this is how Delilah is.” Said Erik, “and I am quite proud of her.” They stared at each other, and L and I were both glancing back and forth at the both of them to see which would speak first. “You see, Daroga, if you knew me better than L you wouldn’t have said such things.” He took a small sip of the wine, yet the Daroga still stared at him. 

“The boy doesn’t know the full story of you, Erik. He only knows what you want him to know.” 

“No, I’d say he knew more.” Said Erik, his eyes were locked on L. A slight creepy smile spread on L’s lips. 

“Shall I question him?” The Persian guy looked angry. 

“If you wish, sir.” L said, “It’ll be trivial though. I‘m a detective, and Erik knows as much as I do.” 

“ Detectives…” the Persian scoffed, “they think they know everything after a few observations.” 

“Have you ever considered that they do?” Said L, and the Persian sighed. “Observations can fall flat when they talk to the person in question.” The Persian guy closed his eyes and took a long sip from his wine glass. 

“You talk like Erik…” 

“I suppose we are alike in a few ways.” Said L, looking out of a nearby window. “How long do we have to drive to get to the house?” 

“3 hours worth.” Erik said and I noticed the glass was half gone. 

“Well then.” Said L, “we can’t really leave seeing that you are obviously intoxicated or shall be shortly.” 

“L you’re overreacting!” Erik said, “I’ve barely any compared to when I was younger.” 

“I know that, Erik. However, I’m not taking any chances.” L said, “You know that I never do.” 

“You’re being overcautious.” 

“The fact that you said that is proof enough that you have been hitting the bottle.” L turned to the Persian, “see what I mean?” 

“ Why the hell did you give him wine in the first place when you knew we were going to be preparing for a three hour drive?!” I said, “L can’t drive a carriage! Some of us are from the 21st century you know!”

“You knew this was going to happen.” Said L, “when someone knows something like this is going to happen and they do it, that means they have motives. So, now I must find your motive.” 

“ Ah Daroga, I never thought I’d see the day when it was you who was being treated as the criminal.” Said Erik, taking another sip of the wine. He mustn’t have cared that we did, and figured now that he was staying, he might as well enjoy himself. Moreover, because he was smiling, I assumed that he was enjoying himself watching L analyse the Persian guy or the Daroga; I didn’t know which one to call him. L stared at the Daroga with an unnerving glare. The servant guy, Darius, came back into the room. He was younger than the Daroga, a guy around his 20’s or so, yet the Daroga looked like a middle aged guy. 

“Would you two like anything?” He asked us, looking particularly at me. 

“No.” L said quickly, then looked back to the Daroga.

      I figured from that point on the conversation between the Persian guy and Erik would be boring, so I got up and stood next to Darius. 

“ Show me around this place.” I said, and he nodded. 

The rest of the house was cooler than the parlor. There were a lot of fragile vases and stuff like tables with interesting designs. It was a pretty place. Finally he showed me the upstairs guest rooms. “ And I’m sure he won’t be opposed if you wish to nap.” Said Darius, “ heated arguments like the ones they usually have are best to avoid, which is why I wasn’t in there as often as I would have been.” 

“ I see.” I said, “ Thanks for showing me around, but knowing me, I’ll probably get lost or break something later.” 

“ I’ll look forward to it.” Said Darius before leaving the room. I laid on the bed, kicked off my shoes, and slept. 

 

***

 

         “ Dante!” Luka woke me up by jumping on my back repeatedly. This was because I hadn’t been waking up. Still, the light in the small demon’s eyes made me feel better about getting up. I dismissed Claude from the job a few days after arriving in the Underworld, and when he asked whom to send, I asked him to send Luka, because no doubt his cheerfulness would be a more pleasurable sight to wake up too. And indeed it was. He sat on the bed, smiling at me, and I gave him a hug. 

“ Good morning Luka.” I said, Luka did have a more peculiar way of waking me up. He was more like an alarm clock, because after shaking my shoulder for a bit, if I didn’t wake up he’d start jumping on my back because I mostly slept on my stomach. I didn’t mind that though, it was better than the boring voice of Claude, and far better than the grating sound of an alarm clock. 

“ I almost thought you were dead!” He said, “ Good thing you’re okay.” 

        I let go of him and he ran out, then I got dressed and headed downstairs.

Alois sat, reading the paper. He threw it into the fire as soon as I came in. “ It was all rubbish anyways, I read it twice.” Alois said, “ I hardly ever read the thing, however, some people have asked for my counsel  today and I have to accept them.” He sighed, “ Claude, get me another cup of tea.” He poured all three of us a cup, however he served Alois one first. “ It’s the annoying part about being an Earl, really. Luka should be able to occupy their children if they bring any. That’s usually how it goes.” 

“ Sometimes I find out more from them than Alois finds out from the parents.” Said Luka, “ that’s just how it goes.” 

“ Interesting. And what shall I being doing during this meeting?” I said, looking in his mind. “ It doesn’t really matter if I’m with Luka or you, does it?” 

“ No, it doesn’t. However, perhaps you should divide your time between Luka and me.” Alois said, “ It would be wise.” 

“ Alright. I have the perfect idea on how to do so.” I said just as the doorbell rang. 

 

      Nox was a delightful young demon. He liked to play tag, however considering his breed was known for speed, that didn’t end to well. Luka told me Nox was a common name in the Underworld, and many young demons don’t like to be compared to other young demons. Midst a game of tag, we switched the game to hide and go seek by my request. Nox was of course happy to oblige, and was rather formal, saying “Yes your highness.” I had to remember that I was royalty supposedly, and smiled at him when he said this. I called being it, and counted to 50, then walked off. I didn’t look for Nox and Luka, but went to Alois, whom was dealing with Nox’s parents. “ An honor for you to join us, your highness.” The two parents bowed respectively. 

“ And I you! Nox is a wonderful demon.” I said, and they smiled. 

“ They’re here because a slayer was sighted in their area.” Alois said, “ They just finished talking about what happened. I have to tell you unfortunately that this happens often. It always has, but the Slayers shall wither and die in the Underworld unless they have a key, which is a portal safe for humans to pass through. And as I understand, you were able to destroy it?” The demon woman nodded. 

“ Nox lost his older brother.” Said the demon man, “ We never caused trouble above ground. We are hunters of souls who are put here from the Fields of Punishment and bottle them for the demons who cannot catch their food or do not wish to catch their food. You are telling me there is no way to punish them for that?” He did not sound angry, and he looked calm. 

“ Join a similar colony. No, there isn’t a punishment if we didn't know who they were. You destroyed their key, so they should rot away in the Underworld and get eaten, which is punishment enough. Who knows, one day you might find they're soul milling around and bottle it for market.” Alois explained before sipping a cup of tea, “ There is no possible way for them to live, and if they do, I will know.” The demon man nodded. “ And if he does live and bring more, the Slayer of Slayers will take care of it, however this is in the worst scenario. There are many slayers above ground he must take care of so they don’t go below ground. Some send small proxies that he is not aware of and ones that no one was aware of until the time of attacks similar to yours. I would not fear, they are dead now.” This seemed to comfort the two demons, and I thought to Alois, _how could these people not know of their own home? How did they not know a human would die down here?_

_No,_ he thought back, _when people are here they do not question the rules of this place. If they do, they don’t ask, and mostly it’s perception. So when things like this happen, they come to find definite answers. Most definite answers lie with me, the Earl closest to their colony that was destroyed. Most councils entail such things._

I see. The demon couple got up, and they looked around. 

“ Oh! I have to find them!” I said, and immediately they got worried. 

“ What? You lost my son!” Nox’s Mother sounded a bit hysterical, “ I can’t lose him! He’s my only son now!” 

“ No! No! I didn’t lose Nox. We’re playing hide and seek, him, the young Earl and I.” I said, yet she began to cry. Whoops. 

      I found Luka hiding under a bush near the swing that hung from one of the skeletal trees that were common to the Underworld. “ Found me!” He laughed and gave me a hug. 

“ Luka, where is Nox?” I said, “ His mother was hysterical when I said we were playing Hide and Go Seek.” 

“ Uh…I don’t know last I saw him he ran off that way into the garden, and Thompson and Company headed in there.” 

“ Good.” I said, “ Now you got to Alois and try to comfort his Mum with your cuteness.” 

“ Right away!” He ran off towards the house as I trotted off into the garden, where as Luka said, the Trio were, cutting the hedges. 

“ Little demon, running this way, where is he?” I asked them, and Canterbury perked up. 

“ That way.” Canterbury pointed eastward, and I ran that way. 

“WAH!” Something landed on my back and latched on. I turned to see the smiling face of Nox. He laid his head on my shoulder.

“ You know, Prince Dante, you kind of look like my older brother except younger. He was 17, and he and Dad taught me how to hunt souls. He and the evil boy…the evil boy raised his gun and my brother only had his crossbow. He died before he could even blink.” Said Nox, “ Dad said it wasn’t likely we’d be in council with the Earl or that I’d meet the prince.” 

“ Well, you did, Nox.” I let him off of my back and onto the ground, and he walked looking down. “ It’ll be alright. It’s hard losing the people you love.” 

His Mother hugged him, and picked him up, then they were gone. “ Dante,” Alois said, “ you did a good job.” 

“ Don’t I always?” I said, and we went back in, eager for the next counsel. 

 

***

 

      I stared at the stalactites above me, then down at my tea before taking a long sip of it and looking at Ciel who sat across from me. It was a tranquil day in the Underworld, and Ciel and I didn’t say anything to each other. I could see Finny weeding a few flowerbeds and Mey-Rin collecting the weeds, which were made of bronze and other assorted precious metals. “ What are you intending to do with those weeds?” I said to Ciel, whom sipped his tea. 

“ I will sell them to the blacksmith in the center of town. Why are you asking?” Ciel said, looking at them. Thinking they had done something wrong, the two tensed. He looked away from them, as did I. 

“ I was just wondering.” I said, taking a cupcake from the little pastry serving tray that Sebastian had put various sweets on for dessert. I’d requested it, thinking it would be a better idea than the lavish desserts that usually went to waste because I was full. As night set in a little more, the Underworld got darker. With my vampire vision, it was easier to distinguish day and night. When it was daytime, instead of the Underworld looking twilight-like it did when I was a human, the day seemed more comparable to the light through the clouds on a winter day. My first day in the English-quarter of the Underworld was coming to a close. “ What are we going to do tomorrow, Ciel?” 

“ I have a few counsels.” 

“ And what are those?” 

“ Meeting with demons whom have certain problems.” 

“ And what are the problems for tomorrow?” 

“ You see, Nico, that was what I was prolonging to tell you.” 

“ Why, what happened?”

“ Hazel was found.” 

“ By who?” 

“ She was with the Earl on probation, whom I call the Undertaker.” 

“ And?” 

“ She was injured, and Hades made an executive order-” 

“ No, you don’t mean-” 

“ They’re going to erase some memories which include you, Dante, L, and place her back in the camps. Soma and Agni are still missing, we have no idea what has happened to them. I know this will be hard for you, however, Hades ordered that you see her one last time.” 

“ Please Ciel, don’t let them do this. They, they can’t! He owes me for almost letting her die, letting Percy-” 

Ciel looked around, “ don’t say that name here. Do not trust royals, Nico. I told you this, yet you did not believe me.” 

“ But I trust you, Ciel.” He stayed silent when I said that. 

“ As I you, Nico.” Ciel said, “ you’re Father has no sense of obligation.” 

“ Ciel-” 

“ Yet I cannot force him to stop his order. We are going to the Undertaker’s home tomorrow, and that's the end of it.” 

My heart felt like it had been ripped from my body. There I was, thinking I would see Hazel again, having hope that one day she’d be there forever with me. Thinking I’d have my sister forever. But no, that was never to be. Deep down I knew it wouldn’t work. My new world was just too different for her, she couldn’t adjust like I did. But there was Ciel, there was always Ciel. I couldn’t stop loving him, I couldn’t let him go. That was why I never escaped, it was because of him. He ensnared me in his trap, a trap which he didn’t know he’d made yet he knew it existed. Now I could never escape this trap, this twisting trap. 

The devil’s trap. 


	14. Taste of Betrayal

 

***

 

       I woke up in the bed of the guest room, and I heard Nico’s voice downstairs. I didn’t believe it at first, and then I realized it was more than likely him, so I ran down the stairs to see him. His face was tear stained, and he hugged me as soon as he saw me. “Nico what’s wrong?” I asked, and he shook his head. I looked over his shoulder at Ciel.  He gave me his usual bored glance with the faintest twinge of hatred. I wondered if I was ever going to get along with Ciel. 

“It’s not my fault.” Ciel said, “It’s someone else’s, someone not currently in this room.” Nico let me go. 

“What do you want to do, Hazel?” Nico asked, “Like, play Scrabble or something?” 

“I, Nico. Why are you talking like I’m never going to see you again?” I said, and he shook his head. 

“Let’s just enjoy today, alright, Hazel?” Nico said, “So, what do you want to do?” 

 

***

 

       The Undertaker invited me for a cup of tea once the two had left to venture and enjoy their final day together. I found it cruel to Nico (I didn't care much about how Hazel felt) yet the world was full of unfairness. Both had looked forlorn, exchanging downcast glances, knowing it would be the last time they saw each other right as they left. I hoped Nico wouldn't do something irrational, which was why I had decided for Sebastian to follow them around to make sure he did not do such a thing, however, I told him to make sure that he was undetected and unseen. The Undertaker poured tea into a skull shaped coffee cup, and I wondered if he had a normal tea set. I closed my eyes as I usually did when drinking tea and took a sip. It wasn’t Earl Grey, but some sort of peach tea with a hint of some sort of mineral. When I opened my eyes, the Undertaker’s scythe was at my neck. He pressed it against my neck harder, the cold metal threatening to cut. I tilted my head up and looked up at the pale, scarred face of the Undertaker, meeting his yellowish-green glowing eyes. “You’ve never been willing to share, even as far back as when you were a young boy. Your dog…your parents…your title…your butler. No one argued with you, no one tried to share.” 

“ I had everything plucked from me, Undertaker. It was stolen, not shared.” 

“ Ah, indeed.” The blade got closer and I craned my face farther up so it pushed into the leather headrest. “The fear of things being stolen, ah I see it very clearly, little lord Phantomhive. You fear Nico’s affections being entirely stolen by Hazel, not shared. No one has shared with you; it was either all or nothing. That’s the way you like it too. You can’t stand the thought of being second or nothing at all, that is why Hazel is a threat you. You fear Nico’s brotherly love for Hazel will consume him and there will be none left you or even worse, that you'd be second. That is why your eyes were the way they were whenever you looked on her. Fear, resentment…all cast under the concealment of boredom which isn't truly how you feel.” he laughed. “And now she’ll be gone and no one will stand in your way. You will truly dominate Nico’s heart. Domination, ah you love that, dominating revenge, people’s lives, you are the king pawn. Dominating pawns is your goal no matter what place they are on the board and you refuse to lose. There is no second place in chess, there is only a winner or a loser.” The blade loosened from my neck, and he took it away sharply, holding it at his side and standing in front of me. Where was Sebastian? My orders would have been overridden if he sensed me in danger. Did the Undertaker do something to him? “L and Dante weren’t a threat yet Hazel had such a deep bond with Nico that you felt her as a threat. You knew for sure with a lack of friends and Mr. Zhang, using human reflexes she would cling to Nico and Nico would love that and they’d be like twins. That scared you, didn’t it?” His smile waned then. “Didn’t it?” I didn’t want to say. 

“Yes.” I admitted breathlessly. I hated people making analyses about me. Yet I didn’t feel like myself, I felt weaker. My eyes glanced at the table-how stupid could I have been?! The Undertaker had not taken a sip of the tea-it was no mineral in the tea. It was a poison. “Yes I don’t want her to take him away. He’s MINE. He’s mine alone! He’s supposed to be all mine!” 

The Undertaker smiled, “oh what a selfish little demon you are.” I felt that form fading; my true form was slowly being exposed. I tried to use the simple disguise of down falling black feathers to disguise me, however, the Undertaker just laughed, and his laugh faded as my vision and the disguise collapsed into darkness. 

 

***

 

         When I returned to the house with Hazel, she and I had still not shaken our somber moods. My heart pounded, I wanted to take Hazel away with me, just to go back to Camp and make up a story, then would try to blend back in. I forced my mind to stop all thoughts about Ciel before they even made full sentences in my mind. 

        The Undertaker smiled at Hazel and I, then said happily, “did you enjoy your time together?” I looked at Hazel, and she looked at me, we both knew we didn’t even though my last memory of her should have been spent happily. I hugged her before she burst into tears, because she knew she wouldn’t remember anything at all, and would think I was dead. “Hazel, I’ll still remember the other times, like at Camp Jupiter. Don’t worry about me.” I fought back my own tears; I had to stay strong for her. “And you’ll remember every other time before that.” 

“Yes,” she choked, “but I won’t know you’re alive, I’ll think your dead like everyone else. Oh Nico, I wish I could just erase it all and start again. I wish you hadn’t gone to the Underworld that day-” 

“Hazel, this was inevitable.” I said, I didn’t want to say that this had been the only way for me. Usually that thought would have been the only one invading my mind, however, there were suddenly “what ifs.” What if I escaped the demons? What if they accepted me? However, a greater part of me pulled me back into my abyss, knowing I couldn’t leave because of one demon. 

“ No it wasn’t.” She said, “ There’s still a chance!” 

“ Dear, it’s time we get going with this.” The Undertaker said, and I wanted to punch him in the jaw, however I couldn’t. This was his job right now. 

         I followed him up the stairs into a small bedroom where Hazel laid down. She looked to the side and held my hand, then her eyes went blank, and the Undertaker closed them. Her hand went limp in mine, and I let her go. 

“ It’s begun.” Was all he said, and he smiled at me. 

“ What the fuck are you smiling about?” I finally asked him, and he laughed at me and my pain. That was why I was angry. Unlike Erik whom had hated his forced task, the Undertaker (who I reasoned was a sick, sadistic freak) was enjoying every minute of it. 

“ I want to show you something.” The Undertaker said, and he began to walk out of the room. I followed him into a sitting room full of black feathers. On the bed was a monster that looked like Ciel-but it wasn't Ciel. It took me a few minutes, but I knew what the creature was. It was Ciel, but Ciel in his true form. “ Hard to believe, isn’t it?” Said the Undertaker breaking my concentration, “ that this thing is the thing you have loved unknowingly. Demons are very disgusting creatures.” I couldn’t bring myself any closer to Ciel. “ His form would easily scare a human, wouldn't it? Any demigod in there right mind would run or fight, yes? That is why he’s hidden it for so long.” The Undertaker went up and cupped Ciel’s chin. “ Yet there’s something mysteriously beautiful about it, isn’t it? This truth I divulged to you?” 

“ Why, why isn’t he awake?” I finally asked the Undertaker. The Undertaker let go of Ciel’s face and looked at me. 

“ The tea I served him weakens him temporarily, usually used for killing the demon in question by a sneaky exorcist. He would be much more powerful right now, and will be once the drug wears off. It won’t hurt him in anyway, however. He'll still be the same selfish little demon when he awakes.” The Undertaker stood by the chair.  “ I’m offering you a choice.” 

“ A choice?” I said weakly, there couldn’t be one. What was this? The Undertaker nodded in response to my question.

“ Yes, Nico. I could erase your memories in a similar fashion, and you could go back with your sister. You’d forget Ciel, this life, and have your old one back. Just be carefree, be with Percy, be with Hazel, be with your people again.” The Undertaker grinned as I began to think. My own mind sickened me by making me want to take the offer. My heart pounded as a soft “yes” almost left my lips. If I forgot Ciel, I could escape the devil’s trap. But what for? Yes, I would have Hazel, but I would never know the feeling of love Ciel had given me, the feelings of empathy and understanding that somehow Ciel had managed. I would still be the fish out of water no matter how much Hazel’s and my return would be glorified. But maybe things would be different…the offer was very tempting. I could go back to Percy, Hazel wouldn't be in pain, true as it was about being a fish out of water, after a very prolonged return I would be celebrated. Maybe I could rewrite myself again, which would be easy to do with no memory of what had happened. He would probably erase the fact I was a vampire too, right? I thought about being human, being mortal and having a soul again. The thought felt amazing. “ I can imagine his heartbroken look. I’ve never seen it before.” The Undertaker said seriously, “ he’ll remember you. It might even drive him into madness." _But what about Ciel?_  His seriousness broke as he gave a quivering smile before laughing very loudly. " But you wouldn’t care, you wouldn’t remember.” The offer was very tempting. I had my answer, and my mind shouted at me to say it before thoughts contridicted it. I was going to say yes. Suddenly, something grabbed me from behind and covered my mouth. I looked up at the owner of the gloved hand, which softened its touch on my mouth, making a small gesture of silence by putting its pointer finger vertically on my lips as the other pushed my chin upwards so I was unable to open my mouth. _Sebastian._ His goal was to protect his Master, his one true master, and surely it would have ripped Ciel to pieces if I left. Both he and I knew that. He leaned down, whispering into my ear with that decadent, deceiving voice lacquered with his false politeness. 

“ Now, now Master Nico don’t do anything foolish.” He said, “ This is the only way you have in life. If you don’t know you’re still going to be a vampire, imagine all of the havoc you would cause. You'd get an unconquerable hunger, starve away until you eat again. You won't know why you did it. And who will that meal be? Percy? Annabeth? Hazel?” 

“ Let me go, Sebastian.” I said when he loosened his hand on my jaw, “ I order you to let me go.” 

“ I shall take no orders from you. My true Master’s well-being is more than yours. Surely this will ruin him beyond measure. I cannot let you go. I thought you cared for him more than this, I thought you loved him.” Sebastian’s eyes glowed with anger and he pushed my jaw closed harder than before, inflicting pain purposely. “ This is why he wishes to dominate your heart. Perhaps he was right thinking the way he did about Hazel-she muddied your vision. I must say, who the fuck do you think you are even attempting this?” I think he was talking to both the Undertaker and I. I never thought Sebastian would talk like that, but then again, I thought more of the demon under that butler was showing its true self. 

“ Oh Michaelis…don’t you think you’ve meddled in enough people’s lives? He never smiled ever again.” The Undertaker looked at Ciel, “ was never full of life ever again. I believe I can save this one,” he looked right into my eyes, “ before you take him away. I could erase the effects of being a vampire until he was a human again. It is too late for Ciel, but it is not to late for Nico to be saved.” 

“ You are foolish to believe that.” Said Sebastian, “ he’s a few months into his relationship with my Master, this is merely a setback. Within a year, he should be fully devoted to him. I refuse to let you put an end to that. You want my Master’s happiness, yes? Master Nico will surely make him happy. Why are you trying to take that away?” 

“ Again, it is too late for Lord Phantomhive. It is not too late for Nico. Choose quickly boy.” The Undertaker bid me, “ will you fall into the abyss, or be pulled out?” 

“ No, Master,” Sebastian bid, “ you have been pulled from the abyss. Do you wish to fall back in?” 

The argument made my head spin and my heart was pounding. My mind drifted to Hazel, then to Ciel, back and forth like a tidal wave…waves…water…Percy. Did I still love Percy, or did I not? Did I truly love Ciel or was that feeling a mixture of feelings I merely did not know existed? 

“ You still love Percy.” Said the Undertaker, “ and do you never want to see him again? Only hear the monotonous voice telling you cynical opinions for eternity?” 

“ You love Ciel Phantomhive.” Said Sebastian, “ your love for Perseus Jackson has faded. My Master is the only one for you. This was meant to happen to you.” 

The two stared each other down. 

“ Let him choose, Sebastian.” 

“ He is not thinking clearly.” 

“ Ah yes, but what better devotion will he show?” 

“ You are trying to trick a demon, sir, I believe that this argument is invalid.” 

“ I’m not trying to trick a demon, I’m merely making a clear path for a confused little boy who fell into total darkness.” 

“ He already is immersed total darkness, there is no other way for him now.” 

“ No he isn’t. You say so because you lie, you are a demon after all.” 

“ You are wrong,” Sebastian smiled, showing pointed teeth. “ I cannot lie to my Master.”

“ Ah, but perhaps what you believe is truth is a lie.” 

_STOP. STOP._ My mind was screaming at me, and tears stung the back of my eyes as I tried trashing to get out of Sebastian's grip.

“ Hush Master, it’ll be alright.” Said Sebastian soothingly, cradling my chin softly under his other hand, stoking my upper lip as I froze and tears that burned my eyes fell. “ I’ll save you from this.” 

“ Nico, my dear prince of darkness, do not listen to a creature that has lying as its nature.” I bit Sebastian's hand with full vampire force and he let go.

“ Please make it stop.” I begged the both of them as I cried and Sebastian fought to close my opened mouth, someone, anyone. “ Make it stop.” 

“ It’ll be over soon.” They said in unison. My head hurt, tears came and I couldn't stop them as well as the choking sobs, I closed them to make the tears stop yet they burned as a refusal to cease, and everything, the voices around me, my thoughts, the twitching of my eyes, stopped. 

 

     The world came back in what seemed like an instant. I was in my bed in the mansion in the Underworld. Ciel stood in front of my window, which had its shades drawn open. He must have sensed I was awake, because he turned to me. His eyes weren’t how I thought they would be. They were tearstained, and he looked down, not meeting my eyes. “ You saw my true form, correct?” Ciel asked, and I nodded. 

“ Yes, Ciel, I did.” I said, “ I take it Sebastian told you everything.” 

“ Yes.” He said, quietly, “ You almost left me.” 

“ Ciel...” I quieted, I don’t know what to say to him.  

He looked at the ring he’d given me on my finger. “ You didn’t take it off.” Ciel said, “ would you have left?” He paused for my answer. 

“ I don’t know, Ciel.” I said, “ There was a lot going on in my mind, I don’t know.” 

He sighed, “ what was I to suspect? I knew this would happen.” 

“ I’m still here.” I said, “ that means something, right?” 

“ I suppose.” Said Ciel holding the curtain and closing it, “ but you were so close to leaving.” 

“ You can’t control me, Ciel.” I said, “ I would have left a long time ago had I not fallen in love with you.” 

“ Sebastian said that you almost said yes.” Said Ciel, “ he’s been ordered not to lie to me. You have no such bond to prevent you from doing so.” 

“ I was weakened.” I said, “ I’m sorry.”

“ She shouldn’t have affected you so.” 

“ Excuse me? I just lost my sister, Ciel. I have an entitlement to be weak!” 

He looked away. I couldn’t deal with him then. I walked out, looking for something else, something to get my mind off what happened. 

       I found myself in a dark room with a piano. I knew it was a piano because when I tripped on something and landed on it, it made noise. It was incredibly dark. I took a lighter from my pocket and lit the candelabra that I’d knocked over with my other hand, and sat the piano. I began to play it, just as the door opened and closed. Ciel came into the room, and sighed. “I’m sorry.” He said, yet I couldn’t deal with him. I began to play to drown him out, and so he took the violin and played it according to the song I played on the piano. We remained there, playing the two instruments in a duet. I begun to think about it, I had kind of put Ciel’s life off-track. He was used to being alone, doing more menial tasks my Dad asked him, spending more time with Sebastian than anyone else, thinking and sometimes barely speaking throughout the course of the day. That was Ciel’s life; then I came along. I tried to think of how I was from Ciel’s perspective. Suddenly, he was assigned a long-term assignment, and he probably didn’t enjoy me at first. He also had to put his life on the line with the threat of me telling someone and getting him and Sebastian killed. Then, he started to have feelings for me, which no doubt must have confused a person as stoical as Ciel. No wonder why he opted out of the camps so quickly. We fell a little deeper into love faster than most people, and he had to deal with all of my emotions with me becoming a vampire and dealing with the people I was pried away from when he wasn’t used to dealing with anyone’s emotion as well as his own. He eased all of this into a sort of game, something he was familiar with, to soothe the newness and uncertainty. Then the threat of losing my mutual love for him and giving it to Hazel as brotherly love arose, kicking up more unpleasant feelings that he probably wasn’t used to or hadn’t had in a long time. Now, this had arisen. I’d saw a side of him he probably didn’t want to see, he had almost lost me, and I had almost willingly gone. The fact that I was willing must have made it worse, especially when he seemed confident I was unshakable in my loyalty, and now he found out I wasn’t. I felt horrible for almost saying yes to the Undertaker then, I’d hurt Ciel a lot by doing it, even though he wouldn’t say it. And what I had said did not help, and he could not even look me in the eyes, no doubt because of the sense of betrayal. When I played the final note, I said, “ I’m sorry, Ciel. I shouldn’t have gotten angry or even thought about saying yes. You just expected me to love you more than Hazel, right?” I knew because I was talking to him, that that was a rhetorical question. Ciel didn’t answer questions like that, but I could look at him and see the answer as well as the confirmation of my theories. So I turned to see the downcast glance that now hurt me due to the fact I knew why it was the way it was. “ You’re not used to feel guilt as a demon, Ciel, are you?” 

“ I don’t know the feelings I have right now, Nico, you might want to ask that again later.” Ciel usually didn't say stuff like that-I hurt him a lot more than I thought. 

“ I shouldn’t have gotten so angry. It was such a small comment after all, and considering all I did.” 

“ It’s expected, Nico. This is a very trying time for you right now. I should have phrased my words more carefully in that conversation.” Ciel sat in an armchair by the piano, putting the violin in a long forgotten case. “ They were all very correct saying that I was selfish. Indeed I am, Nico. I’m also impatient. Most demons would have withstood Hazel knowing that she’d be gone in 90 or so years but I could not wait that long. I wanted you and I wanted you to be mine completely with no exceptions. I am getting my wish now, Nico.” 

“ You deserve it.” I said, “ these few months have been a hard time for both of us.” 

“ I suppose.” Ciel’s glance went downward again and he left the room. 

 

***

 

      “ Hellooo? Can somebody please get me down from here?” I was tied up and put on a high shelf which annoyed me. The French mansion was certainly different from the English one, but at least I was out of the Persian guy’s house finally. (So many breakables-I mean dude come on seriously how many priceless vases can you have?) It had been 20 minutes and I forgot why I was up there, but I wanted to get down. Finally I heard a familiar British voice. 

“ Hello Delilah.” I looked down to see Ciel. 

“ Hello Ciel.” I groaned, he was too short to get me down. “ Why are you here?” 

“ I need to talk to Erik, however, Sebastian is not with me either. I have come here with intent for staying a few days to clear myself.” 

“ So, like a vacation from Nico?” 

“ I would not call it that Delilah. Things have transpired which you do not know,” he turned away and began to walk out, “ and I need some time to think on my own uninfluenced by others, especially Nico. I know Erik will accept my staying here and give me all of the time I need to think.” 

“ Sure, take lessons from the creepy stalker guy on love.” 

“ Erik has better ideals on love than you know, Delilah.” Said Ciel, “ plus I do not need him to guide me, for I can guide myself in this.” 

“ ‘Kay but can you have someone get me down from here?” I said, and he walked away. Why did Ciel appear in some random room in Erik’s house? He was weird sometimes. 


	15. A Much Needed Break

 

***

 

      I sat at the edge of the pit; legs folded up against my torso, a mysterious wind that I assumed were faded souls flowing against my skin. When Ciel had gone, no servant spoke with me or met my eyes, and the only one who told me that he was gone was Tanaka. However, I didn’t need anyone to tell me the reason why he left. With an order not to follow him and with a pit to Tartarus so close, one could only assume what had happened to Ciel. I never thought Ciel would do something like that or that I’d hurt him so much, so in a way, it didn't seem probable. _" I did not want to die."_ I remembered he told me. Had I really hurt him that much that that changed? I remembered Tartarus, even the thought made me cringe and try to stop thinking about it. And Ciel could have been there. That made it even more horrible than it already was. You never know how much you love something until it’s gone. Story of my life. I sighed, looking behind me. Sebastian was there. He looked solemn, and I turned away from him, hiding my face in my hands. “You could leave, Sebastian. I’m sure you’d be contented with that, so why aren’t you?” 

“ Master, I do not know. The other servants…serving him was the only life they knew other than the tragedies beforehand. They are in disarray, they need you.” 

“ No one needs me, Sebastian. No one has ever needed me.” I said, looking into the pit. Sebastian sat next to me, his legs hanging off the edge. He turned his head to look at me. 

“No one has ever needed you? Master, how mistaken you are. Without you, Hazel Levesque would forever be suffering for her Mother’s sins, the demigods might have lost the Battle of New York, and the Seven would not have known a thing about Tartarus. There are many things you have done and they could have never accomplished without you. Yes, you were needed.” Sebastian said, “There was no way of stopping my Master from leaving. Something tells me he’s still out there somewhere; however, I have orders not to follow him and to have you not find him. Sitting here and feeling morose certainly isn’t going to help the troubled servants, the demons and monsters wondering where the Earl has gone, oh, and Lord Soma will be here soon.” Sebastian opened his pocket watch, looked at the time, and closed it, then began to get up. “We must have an answer for them, Master.” 

“I won’t provide the right answers, I never have, and I thought you saw so.” I looked up at him, a slight smile coming onto his lips. 

“Nonsense, I’ll be behind you, guiding you.” 

“I still don’t want to go, Sebastian, don’t you understand?” 

“I do.” Sebastian sat next to me again and looked into the pit. “Because the Underworld is vast, these holes are here leading to Tartarus so auras don’t fade before they get to the main pit of Tartarus. I assume you already knew that.” Sebastian sighed, straightened, and closed his eyes. “I imagine escaping the contract, but I know if I try to by going into Tartarus; it will not get any better than it is for me now. Now get up.” 

“ Excuse me?” 

“ I will carry you,” His smile widened. 

“ Wha-” Sebastian picked me up, and I hit his back. “Let! Me! GO!” 

“ No.” He said simply, and walked back to the mansion. 

        I was glomped by Soma as soon as Sebastian put me down. He’d been crying, and he whispered, “She’s gone, she’s gone…” and nothing else before letting me go. “ Why? Why would he do such a thing?” 

“ I know, Soma, I know.” I said, it must have been a slap in the face to him. Here were the rest of the Earls in the house getting the demigods of Hades to protect, and his was taken away from him, basically telling him he wasn’t good enough. I don’t think it was my sister in herself that made Soma upset, I think it was my Dad’s rejection by taking her away. Maybe to conceal that, Soma told himself to be upset about my sister, so that was a display of it. “Maybe it just wasn’t the right time for her to be here, Soma. Maybe she was better off there after all, it’s not your fault.” 

“ I know it isn’t, but why?! I was finally starting to get used to her being around, and now Ciel’s gone! All I have is you!” Soma was right. With Hazel gone, the next natural person other than Agni to get comfort from was Ciel even if Ciel probably wouldn’t say anything too sympathetic, he was gone too and there was only me, the next person in line. I accepted Soma’s next hug even though it nearly crushed my ribs. I let Soma cry, and didn’t say very much, just as Ciel would have in that instance. Actually, Ciel would have probably asked Soma to stop hugging him, but that was where Ciel and I differed. Soma needed a hug, so I gave him one even though I wasn’t much into hugs (especially ones that made me feel like I knew what a would corset feel like.) He stayed like that for a little while, making it kind of awkward, and I pleaded Sebastian silently from behind Soma’s shoulder for assistance. 

“ Lord Soma-” there was the reprieve-he let me go. I went over to Sebastian, and looked at him. “ Would you like some tea?” 

“ Is it Earl Grey?” 

“ Yes.” 

Soma was teary-eyed and sounded a little bit like a little kid who got his toys taken away but was now being presented with something to replace what they'd lost.“ Just like Ciel liked it?” 

“ Yes, of course, it’s the way this Master likes it too.” 

“ Good.”

        Soma sipped his tea and his eyes widened before he put it down. “ He always liked it strong enough to kill.” He set it down on the little table in the small drawing room, which I didn’t even know was there. 

“ Soma, do you know your way around this place?” 

“ Not really, but I will protect you until Ciel gets back!” Soma said in a vowing tone, “ no matter how long that may be.” He looked sadly into the teacup. “ If Ciel was dead, Nico, would you open Tartarus?” 

“ There would still be no guarantee he’d make it out.” 

“ Yes, but still, would you?” 

“ No, Soma.” I said, “ Don’t ask me stuff about there, okay? It’s a sore subject.” 

“ To be quite honest, Nico, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to talk about it around you.” Soma said, taking a small sip of his tea before placing it back down on the saucer again. “ You’d be the only one capable of doing that, and even if you don’t want too, you know they might force you, right?” 

“ There’s been talk?” 

“ A little, but not much. Let’s hope is fizzles and dies as many suggestions are seeming too. The only thing that the Earls have managed to do for a good 20 years or so that most of them agreed on was to kill Percy Jackson and other people, and 70% that hasn’t worked until someone is finally able to really massacre them.” 

“ Well, what if they all want me to open Tartarus again?” 

“ Run.” 

“ That seems to be the only option I’ve been given for a long time.” 

“ Yes, but this time you won’t be alone.” Soma said, “ Ciel will be with you, and once you are becoming hard to catch they’ll attempt to catch Dante and you know he’ll either fight them or slaughter them, however, it seems more along the lines he’d slaughter them. Then there’s L, who will probably go into hiding with Erik, Madame Giry, Delilah, and Krista if she wakes up-” 

“ What do you mean ‘Krista if she wakes up?’” 

“ Krista hasn’t arrived here yet last I heard from Erik, she was still going through the vampire stage of death and hasn’t become, you know, undead. It doesn’t work with everyone, Nico.” Soma said, “ It’s riskier than most vampires make it out to be.” 

“ So, I could have-” 

“ Nico, you could have.” Soma nodded, “when he saw you, Ciel looked sad, sadder than usual. Sebastian carried you to your room and tucked you in, he said ‘Good night, Master di Angelo’ looking like he’d put you in a coffin. You’re luckier than you think you are.” We were both silent for a long while after that.  “ If not for you, Nico, I would be above ground now. I hate it down here, and because Hazel is gone, there is no reason for me to stay. However, I have to stay for you, Nico, I feel obligated.” 

“ I don’t mind you staying.” I said, “ I mean, I would be a bad host without you, right?” 

He nodded, and took a sip of tea. “ Ciel would have hated that.” 

 

***

 

        The daytime light in the Underworld streamed in through the lace curtains of Erik’s study, and I faced him again, then looked at the phonograph that played an old vinyl recorded opera. He sat in one of his leather chairs and I sat in the one adjacent to it. A ceiling fan gently swirling around above us ever so slowly. Erik’s study was a bit messy, the oak bookshelves were crammed with books, loose-leaf papers with messages whose meanings were long lost, music papers that never got their proper due. In between Erik and I was a worn wooden coffee table on which I laid my teacup; a blue teapot decorated with gold and blue crisscrosses with red roses was close to my teacup as it sat on a small heater to keep the tea hot. We didn’t speak, yet I looked at him, and he looked at me. “ There isn’t much I can say, Ciel.” Erik said in French, which I said it was okay for him to do sense he wanted too. He missed speaking in his native language, which was usually all he spoke in when in the Underworld. In fact, at that time, only spoke English around Delilah since she didn't know the language.

“ I know Erik, I just need both a break and your guidance.” I said, and he nodded. I had learned many languages over the course of the years. 

“ I understand.” He said, “ Nico is going through a rough time. It doesn’t mean you’re not important to him, remember, he only would have left if his memories were erased. This is because he would be in pain if he remembered you, and one would feel no pain in leaving someone that they did not love. Nico loved his old life in some ways, and it’s more familiar to him. He loves you very much, Ciel, but this life is far different from the one that he once lived.” 

“ Does he not pine for me as much as his old life?” 

“ That’s why you left, no? To make him feel the pain of having you gone.” Erik poured himself another cup of tea. “ No doubt he is, and he probably thinks you are dead, considering how close that pit is to the mansion. However, Ciel, you are probably torturing him because he loves you. He thinks you’re dead, he has no idea where you are, and he knows that he’s hurt you very much. If you are looking for vengeance to recompense the feelings he has hurt, then surely you have by now. I have a feeling, however, that this is more so a retreat for you.” 

“ It is.” I admitted, “ Both things which you said are true.” 

“ I know you very well, Ciel, I know most members of our above-ground household very well come to think of it.” Erik said, “ Soma is probably with Nico right now because he is feeling rejected and needs comfort. I almost feel bad for him, here the rest of us are, protecting demigods and he gets his taken away not by death but by the person who sent the demigod to him.” 

“ I remember how nervous he was about going to Camp Half-Blood.” I said, “ All of that just to have her be taken back. Hades is a cruel ruler, but I would expect no other behavior other than the one he has.”

Erik nodded and took a sip of his tea. “ I couldn’t agree more.” I took a sip of my tea, and we both put the teacups down on the saucer at the same time. “ You need a vacation, Ciel.” Erik said, “ A lot has been happening with you and you need a break. L’s an easy one to protect when it comes to demigods.” 

“ Indeed.” I said, “ He can see a person before they’re coming, and if they are dangerous, he would know and come to you. Nico does not have that ability. However, he has an entire array of abilities set aside for protecting himself. I am sure in my absence he’ll be safe, and if not, there is Sebastian and the servants to save him. He does not need me.” 

“ Ciel, do not put yourself down so. Nico loves you, he has to miss you and regret what he has tried to say. Also, Nico did not even say he that wished his memories erased.” 

“ Only because Sebastian stopped him.” 

“ Just like you, Ciel, Nico has an entitlement to be weak.” There were things that I wished to say then that I did not, one of them being that I never thought he was weak and he was the only one I trusted not to be weak when I needed him. Erik had his own way of knowing what I wished to say even though I did not, so he continued as though I’d said them. “ Ciel, Nico is a broken boy, as are you. Despite so many similarities, your ways of thinking are different. You wish only to go forward, however Nico wishes sometimes that he could go back. That option was given to him at a time when he was hopeless, so, with his attitude, were you really expecting a different reaction? I have to say you should be at least a bit thankful that he’s stayed away from that option for so long. He truly loves you, Ciel, because he would have tried to get back many times if he didn’t.” 

“ And he only gave in then because he was weakened by Hazel.” 

“ I take it that is the true source of your anger.” Erik sighed and closed his eyes, “ it may be impossible, Ciel, but I must to you the truth of what you need to do. You need to forget about her, you must move on and heal Nico. Look past the hatred and resentment that you have for Hazel for threatening the bond between you and Nico. I am not asking you to forgive, Ciel, I am asking you, no, telling you that you need to forget.” 

“ You know that I do not forget yet I move forward.” 

“ Yes, Ciel, but you’re not moving forward. Something needs to be sacrificed for you too; love is a world of pain and sacrificing. This is a scenario in which Aphrodite or Eros is probably smirking saying ‘how far will you go before you give up?’” 

“ I never give up.” 

“ Show them, Ciel.” Erik said, “ Show them how strong you really are.” 

“ I will in time.” I said, taking another sip of my tea. “ However, I do need a break for a while.” 

“ I almost forgot that.” Erik said, “ How long are you going to stay?” 

“ However long it takes me to fully gather my wits on everything that’s transpired lately.” 

“ Sounds reasonable-things have been going awfully fast. It seems like years when it’s really only been what, three and a half months?” 

“ Yes…it’s very hard to remember that sometimes.” 

“ In this situation, I think you need to remember that more than I do.” 

“ I suppose it is.” 

        Erik poured another cup for himself just as I finished mine, and the pot of tea was gone. Wordlessly, I laid the cup on the saucer, then put it on the table, walking out from the study. 

       My footsteps were the only footsteps that echoed throughout the dark hallways that twisted like snakes. As I walked, I gazed upon the Venetian masks and mirrors on the walls that were as common to Erik’s home as oil paintings would be to other manors. When I reached the end of a hallway, I went up stairs, going up and up until I reached the attic, which was locked due to that fact that that was Erik’s room. However, on that floor was the guest room in which I was staying, so I went in and laid down on the meticulously made bed that smelled of fresh linen with a hint of lavender. The ceiling of the room was tiled and I spent some time looking at the picture it made and studying each tile. It occurred to me that Madame Giry and Krista were not yet in the Underworld, Erik must have been on edge because usually a person would be done changing into a vampire by then. Also, Madame Giry was his most dependable house cleaner. It struck me that Delilah had tended to this room, and I eyed her handiwork. I saw that when she put her mind to it, she wasn’t that bad of a maid. I got my mind off that subject and studied the ceiling again. 

I was awakened by a light tapping on my door. “ Come in.” I told whoever it was, and in came L. 

“ Hello, Ciel.” He said, looking around. 

“ You haven’t been to this floor of the house, have you?” 

“ Not in person, but I have it on camera. Not much goes on in this house.” 

“ I’m surprised that you left your computers to come here.” I said, “ What for, L?” 

“ Delilah did a nice job in here, didn’t she?” L looked around the room and walked over to a purple orchid, which sat on a table that was pushed into the corner of the room. He did not answer my question, however, he picked a bloom from the orchid. 

“ Yes she did.” I said, “ I noticed that earlier.” 

“ Took a long time to get her to clean it though-Erik had to tell her. She doesn’t have Madame Giry to enforce her and she likes to relax.” L said, “ But I wanted to ask you, other than the arguing you two did, how was Nico when Hazel left?”

“ Morose and sad, I suppose.” I said, “ I wonder if he still is.” 

“ I know he is.” L said, “ I know I can’t force you to leave, but don’t stay too long, okay? The pit to Tartarus is close to your house, and as Erik said, Nico loves you. He probably has no idea what’s happened to you, seeing as you’ve gone without a trace. In what manner did you leave?” 

“ Well, it was before dinner. Nico was upstairs, and we’d been talking. I left the room, and went downstairs and told Sebastian not to follow me. I also told him that was an order, then I left.” 

“ No suit case?” 

“ No.” 

“ So that’s the only set of clothes you have?” 

“ Yes, I’m sure Sebastian will come with them-” then I remembered I ordered him with the contract seal being visible not to follow me. So unless my life was endanger, he would not try to find me. L snickered, then his face went into slight irritation. 

“ I must go, Ciel. Maybe you could fit into a t-shirt or a pair of shorts I have.” L said, then he disappeared. 

 

***

 

      “ DELILAH. How many times have I told you to ask permission before using my computer?!” She jumped, falling out of my chair. I looked up at the screen and my face fell. 

“ Do you have like empathy links with your computers?!” Delilah groaned, getting off the ground. 

“ You were looking through my Kira case files. Why?” 

“ I wanted to go on the internet but I heard someone coming by and thought it was you so my hand swerved onto the button for files and clicked so I looked through it.” 

“ That does sound like something you would do, Delilah.” I shrugged, deciding to let it go because she was probably going to do stuff. And, considering she’d already saw all of my files…I sighed. “ Fine, you can use my computers.” 

“ Yay!” 


	16. The Automatonic Butler

***

       There was a knock on the door. “I’ll fetch it.” Said Sebastian, and he went to the door, leading a man in. The man was a demon judging by the slight sharpness to his teeth and blazing red eyes. He wore a top hat, his head was down, and he wore a black trench coat. When he lifted his head, I could see his gaunt face and a slight layer of stubble on his chin. “Mister Prince.” He said, addressing me with a slight nod. “I have a gift for ya.”

“A gift?” Soma piped up, “I already don’t trust that.”

The demon paid no attention to Soma, and focused on me. His eyes held a mad gleam, and something reminded me of the Undertaker. I shivered and looked back at the table, avoiding his glance. “You see, I am an automaton maker. In case you didn’t know, my Prince, almost everything that went out of style or was consider ‘too old fashioned’ due to new technology are still prized here. They coexist along new inventions no matter how outdated they are. I would like for you to see my shop and receive your gift.”

“ I must go with him.” Soma said, and Sebastian nodded.

“As must I.” Sebastian said, and the man nodded.

“Very well then.” He said, and before I knew it, I was following Soma and Sebastian into a dark carriage, followed by an equally dark store.

        In the foyer of the store, the demon began to talk with Sebastian and Soma, yet I walked past him and into his shop. Sebastian and Soma were not behind me, and the door of the pitch-dark shop locked behind me. I knew I’d messed up. The shop was full of dolls and puppets, some with cracked faces hanging from the ceiling from strings, some unfinished, some made of tin. I figured perhaps there was an exit in the back, so I walked deeper into the store. It got darker and the dolls got creepier, more unfinished and broken with tools lying around. I’d wandered into the workshop, and no exit was to be found. I felt like something had its eyes on me more so than before, so I whipped around and screamed. The doll was still, but taller than me. He looked like a human, but I could tell by his amethyst eyes that he was just a doll. He had red hair, a dark purple almost black suit, a dark brown top hat with a red ribbon, and loafers. He looked very, very real, so as a precaution, I touched his cheek. It felt like flesh. A little more creeped out than before, I moved away cautiously from the doll, then turned away from it. I walked farther and farther into the store, still feeling like something was following me. I got nervous enough to grab a sharpened pair of wire-cutting pliers from a table. I continued to walk, and then I found an exit, which was a glass door covered by black construction paper and duct tape. I tried to open it, and the handle broke off. Then the feeling of something watching me intensified. I stood still, my hand shaking while holding the handle and pliers. Then something touched my shoulder. I hit the door and it fell down, then I turned over to see it was the doll with the red hair and purple suit I’d seen before. It blinked, and moved a step. “Master.” Was all it said before I screamed. “ FUCK! SEBASTIAN! SOMA! WHAT THE FUCK!?”

“ Oh, dear prince, I see you’ve found my gift. More like he’s found you.” The automaton maker stepped from behind the doll. “ Isn’t he neat? I found him in an abandoned fort in England around the late 1890’s. It took me many years to fix and reprogram him as well as find a clean, blank soul. He knew the Earl, how odd.”

“ You.” Sebastian sneered as he picked me up and held me defensively.

“ Sebastian?” The doll turned his head to one side.

“ We left off on bad terms.”

“ I am confused.” Said Soma, and I nodded.

“ Yet I am back for one purpose, Sebastian, and that is to serve my new Master, the Prince.” The doll bowed admiringly to me, and Sebastian held me tighter.

“ This sickens me.” Sebastian said, and the automaton maker sighed.

“ Michaelis, you act as though it’s you who is the one to receive Drossel. Oh, that’s his name by the way, Drossel Kienz.” The automaton maker said, “ And without serving the prince, the creature has no other purpose but to rust.”

Drossel stood up straight and looked sadly at his shoes. “ I told you he’d be disgusted with me. Look, even he screamed in terror when he first met me. He's disgusted by me.”

“ Dude, you friggin' stalked me throughout the entire store!” I said, “ I was just a little jittery due to all the dolls, sorry.” I didn’t know why I felt bad for the automaton standing before me, but I did. He was looking for acceptance…I knew how that felt, and to be rejected so much. I could relate in the slightest sense, and after all, he did have a soul. Drossel’s head snapped upwards to look me in the eyes, his purple eyes filled with desperation and yearning to be accepted.

“ Will you accept me as your servant or not?” Drossel said, then he closed his mouth. His hands were shaking, he was nervous.

“ Put me down, Sebastian.” I said, and he nodded, doing as I asked. I looked Drossel in the eyes again. He looked like he was accepting the pain of rejection as if he already knew. “ Yes, Drossel, I’ll accept you as my servant.” It took him a while to compute that I said that, Sebastian, not so much.

“ Master.” He said in horror, “ this is an awful idea! You have no idea what he has done-”

“ Well, he was soulless, and now he’s not. Also, he probably regrets what he did back then.” I said, “ What did he do back then?”

“ He almost made my Master’s former fiancée into an automaton and tried to do the same with my Master. I stopped him and killed him, but apparently, things just won’t stay dead.” Said Sebastian, a cross look on his face.

“ Things have changed, Sebastian.”

“ Well,” said Soma, “ if I may intrude, Agni was once a brutal murderer and torturer; he changed his ways entirely. Who says that cannot happen even here in the Underworld?”

“ Soma," I thought of the kind and genial butler (whom was not present due to the fact he was at the mansion making Soma's lunch.) It was hard to believe that Agni could have murdered let alone tortured people. " Agni really-”

“ Yes, Agni was. Agni wasn’t even his real name, I gave it to him.”

“ Well, Soma’s right.” I agreed, “ A person can change more than once.”

“ I still don’t trust him," Sebastian said.

“ You act as though I give a fuck that you do.” I said, “ Head butler you may be, Sebastian, but I am the master of the house with Ciel gone. In addition, I have been given a gift. If it was anything else, you would have told me it would be rude not to accept it.”

Sebastian growled, and the automaton maker smiled. “ You’re quite good at debating, Prince Nico.” He said, pushing Drossel forward. “ Now, I must repair my door. Goodbye!” He disappeared.

       

      “ This is the new servant?” Mey-Rin said, looking Drossel up and down.

“ What’s your name,” Bardroy asked.

“ My name’s Drossel, Drossel Kienz.” The servants introduced themselves to the new servant, and Finny offered to show him around the house, however, Sebastian stepped forward. “ No Finnian, I do not believe that that would be necessary. As head butler, it is only suitable for me to show our new servant around. Now, the rest of you, get back to your chores.” Each with a begrudgingly “yes sir,” the servants walked away, and Sebastian went with Drossel, leaving me alone in the foyer.

***

       A week or two passed, I was quite enjoying my stay, yet at the same time, something felt out of place. That remained and strengthened when Madame Giry came back alone. Her story was vague, yet it held a simple message of slayers and death. Erik locked himself in his room, clearly inconsolable and incapacitated by grief. I offered my condolences, and decided that it was best I left. I sat on the bed of the guest room, true I would leave, but just a bit longer. There was a knock on my door, and I let Delilah in. She sat on a chair, a blank look on her face.

“ She died…” Delilah trailed off. “ When I look back at it, she really had both of our interests in mind.”

“ I suppose.” I said, “ You two had a rather bittersweet relationship. Do not wish things were different, Delilah?  
" Kind of."   
" You must move forward and never look back.”

“ That’s how you see everything, Ciel.” Delilah said, “ Is it really that wrong to sit and mire in the past for a while?”

“ You don’t make any progress doing so.”

“ Who says that progress needs to be done?”

“ How is the world going to know you exist?”

“ Well, I’ve done enough for the world to know that I do.”

“ Well, is that all you want the world to know that you have done?”

“ Enough with you and your logic!” Delilah said, “ Everyone in this house is in pain except for you, Ciel, even though you’ve always been emotionless anyways.”

“ Of course…I should leave soon.” I said, and she nodded.

“ Yes, you should.”

        I got up from the bed, and shadow traveled. I stood outside of the pit near the mansion. I wasn’t ready to face Nico yet, so I stood there, looking into its depths. I thought I could hear the faintest sound of screaming from the tortured monsters below. The cold nipped at my skin as well as the wintry breezes; I had not been wise in my decision not to bring a jacket. Walking in the wind would make me colder, so I stood there. Suddenly, warm fur cloth came down around my shoulders, and lanky arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer to the familiar warm body behind me. I looked up to see Nico standing there, smiling at me. He rested his chin on my shoulder, whispering into my ear. “ Welcome home, Ciel. I missed you.” I leaned back onto him, turning my head so him lips rubbed against his neck. True it had been a short time, in fact only a week or two, but I had missed Nico. That was what had been amiss at Erik’s home. As he held me, I forgot what had happened with the Undertaker and what had happened with Krista. It was only Nico, his touch, his breath, his warmth, and his soft lips which traced my neck. “ Let’s get out of the cold, shall we?” I asked, and with a nod, I took his hand and we turned so we were standing side by side, then walked to the mansion.

***

         I fixed the doll’s dress. At night I had went to the thrift shops and bought porcelain dolls with the small amount of money I was given (because all of the servants were given an amount they set for themselves-mine being 20 pounds a week.) This new one needed no work at all, but the doll seemed a little sad. “ You really are pretty,” I said, “ perhaps later I’ll try to paint a smile on your face because it would be more fitting. Then I think to myself you’re a lovely doll, why would anyone paint you to look sad? No matter…I’ll name you Savannah, Savvy for short. Do you like that name? I hope so.” I gave the doll a slight hug and put her on a shelf with another doll. “ Be nice to her-she doesn’t think she’s pretty but she is. Okay? She’s good.”

“ Erm, Drossel, what are you doing?” I turned to Master, whom was eyeing me suspiciously.

“ I buy dolls with the 20 pounds you give me.” I answered, “ These are some of them. I just bought a new one and named her Savvy. She seems a little sad, don’t you think? I might paint her a little later so she looks happier. What do you think, isn’t she cute?”

“ Uh, yeah I guess so.” Master said, “ I’m not really into dolls.”

“ Most people aren’t, that’s why so many are in the thrift shops.” I said, “ But being partially a doll myself, I have some sort of empathy with them.”

“ I guess.” Master said, “ But I think of you as more of a human because you act like one. That’s great; I miss humans.”

“ Anything to keep you happy, Master.” I said, thinking to myself I cannot say what I was going to say which is this, if you knew what I had done a very long time ago you would not call me human. “ Master, I have a question for you. Because you are a vampire, how will you get your blood meals?”

“ People…no, demons have caught slayers and are giving them to me to feed off of. This is going to happen next week…they’re so antsy to give them to me and they might give me more than one…I don’t want them too. I need only one to live healthily, and I wouldn’t over access.” I looked at his gaunt figure and wondered if this was true. 

“ Hm, and I think to myself how is it so hard for a soulless being to take lives?”

“ I don’t know, Drossel…I’m different, I don’t feel as though I’m wholly a vampire even though I am as my senses, vision and abilities tell me I am. I still feel like a demigod on the inside even though my body is a vampire. Each time I bite a person, I feel horrible for days if I enjoy it. I accept that I am a monster, but in order to do so I have to constantly remind myself of my acceptance, almost like going over it over and over again like a broken record is playing in my mind.” Master sighed and closed his eyes. “ I can’t stop regretting things, Drossel, even though I wish too.”

“ Master, to be perfectly fair, you’re being far too hard on yourself.”

“ How so?”

“ Things that would have taken a lifetime to grasp you have been trying to grasp for three months.”

“ But I’ve done acceptance like this before.”

“ Maybe it’s just one of those things that you can only do once.”

“ I know people have done that before.”

“ You’re pushing yourself too hard, Master.” I said, “ And then I think to myself you need to relax.”

“ I don’t know why I can’t…when I try I either sleep or I think about everything.”

“ You could try to make up a world on your own as a writer would and concern yourself with the people in it.”

“ What kind of a world could I make up?”

“ A very outlandish one that no one would think of.” I said, and we stood there, before he finally glared downward. “ I’m tired, Drossel.” He said, and then he fell on me, asleep.

“ Good night, Master.” I said, pulling him to his feet. I held him sideways and brought him to his room where I tucked him in, then walked out of the room.

***

    _The dream is in monochrome like an old black and white movie. I’m standing on a sidewalk that overlooks a beach. I can almost taste the salt from the air on my tongue, hear the waves and the gulls that flew above me. I walk to the edge of the sidewalk, it’s almost morning. A girl in a bikini with lightly colored hair that’s pulled back and slightly wet stands on a beach with a young man with swim trunks and hair that is dark and wet. They were swimming, that I knew. They stood close, holding hands. I know them…they’re Annabeth and Percy. They looked out at the water, watching the sunrise. It’s a picture perfect moment. Percy looks lovingly at her and bends down on one knee. Then he pulls out a ring from a long forgotten and sandy bag that lays near their feet. It’s a proposal. Annabeth is speechless, and he says something that I cannot hear. I knew it wouldn’t have been long before this happened, and yet as happy as I am for her, I feel as though something smashed off a piece of me. Yet with that piece of myself gone, I feel, free. I feel free like the birds soaring above me. Frank, Hazel, Leo, Piper, Jason…they run down the beach, giving their congratulations to the two. The pain in me is gone now, there is freedom. “Congratulations, Percy.” I whisper into the wind that blows softly past my ears. Then I fade like sand in the wind and the dream fades into another._

_Frank and Hazel sit alone at a table for two. The restaurant is fancy, and Hazel seems happy. That makes me feel good, I am happy she is no longer seeming so burdened by my leaving. Then I realize that this dream has purpose…it’s to make me feel free from my bonds as a demigod. And I do feel free. Hazel laughs, and that makes me feel even better. Then her face turns serious, and I can hear the conversation. “ Those dreams about Nico…we haven’t discussed them.” Hazel said, “ What I see in them confuses me, and I feel as though I know but I don’t.”_

_“_ _Is he in danger?” Frank asked, “ Because we can find him again.”_

_Hazel shakes her head, “ I can tell he doesn’t want to leave. I knew he loved the person or the thing that he was with. I could also tell that the thing loved him very deeply. It was odd. The thing had red eyes, it wasn’t human. It, well, the it was a he, wore Victorian style clothing and it was all black and its cold, he’s cold. Nico comes from behind and drapes a coat around him then they hug and kiss.”_

_“ Maybe it was symbolism.” Frank said, “ Maybe the creature is a dark creature that is cynical and Nico makes him feel loved and warm. Maybe Nico is dead and his soul was taken by a monster.”_

_“ Maybe.” Hazel said, “ There was another dream. There’s a man, no, another thing like a machine who’s a man or a man who’s a machine. He looks human, and he’s hugging and baby-talking to a doll.”_

_“ Hazel, I think that dream was brought on by that bad swordfish you had last night-”_

_“ No, Frank, Nico was in this one too.”_

_“_ _Oh?”_

_“ And he falls asleep.” Hazel said, “ These dreams…he’s not in danger wherever he is…and I don’t think we should look for him. I have a feeling you're right about him being dead. Where he is would be dangerous for you and me to go to.”_

_“ So, we can’t get him like he got you?”_

_“ No, Frank, we can never get him.” Hazel shook her head and a weak smile came on her lips. “ But maybe some day we will. Ah well, as long as he's happy where he is, so am I.” I will be happy for you, Hazel. I thought, or at least close to it. I smiled, and woke up._


	17. Mourning Ones

***

      Erik locked himself in his room for solitude, as soon Madame Giry did. That left only me and Delilah, whom was rather self efficient. She got up with no alarm, got dressed and prepared herself for the day, went upstairs and made toast for herself (since when did she know how to use a toaster? Madame Giry always made her breakfast before.) After she ate said toast, she left the plate in the sink to be cleaned later. Then she would walk around, first up the stairs to Erik’s room. “Hey Erik!” She yelled at the door and Erik behind it. “Are you going to come out of your room?” Each day he would wake up, and smile softly at the door before sobbing silently and not answering the door. When Delilah sees that like the previous mornings he does not answer, she goes downstairs to Madame Giry’s room, which is close to her’s. She knocks on the door and Madame Giry wakes up, but does not get up from bed. “Hey Madame Giry! Are you two sleeping forever?!” Delilah gets discouraged and walks away. She finally makes her way up to my room, and I open the door before she gets there.

      Like every morning, Delilah walked in and sat in a chair that I’d gotten from the basement for her. It’s a rocking chair that’s way to big for her, but she enjoyed sitting in it anyway. She watched Madame Giry and Erik on the screens. “They’ll get over it, Delilah.” I said, “They just need time.”

“Ugh why can’t they just get over it already?” Delilah sighed, “Least you’re here.”

“There is an 85% chance that you and Erik will go after the slayers that kill Krista, 89% chance says that it won’t be by Hades’s orders.”

“How do you do that?”

“Do what, the percentages?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I have to predict the likelihood of an event due to past events.”

“So, how do you get numbers?”

“By what I just told you.”

“You guess the numbers?”

" No, it's all made from fact." 

“No.” She sighed, “never mind I hated math anyways.”

“I feel déjà vu from the time I tried to explain French to you.”

“That seems like a long time ago.”

“Death makes everything seem like a long time ago.” I sighed, “it draws things out. When problems are dire, Erik hides from them. He hid from humanity when they scorned him, and now he is hiding from the world because humanity has taken one of the people he held most dear. It is his nature to hide from the world after such an event, and the Madame feels guilt so she cannot face the eyes of another person, even herself, seeing as she’s covered the mirror in her room. Neither of them are going to answer the door when you knock, Delilah.”

“ I’m still going to try.” Her eyes flickered with determination.

“Go ahead, I won’t stop you.” I said, “You know I’m never wrong.”

      She left after a while and made herself lunch, eating it alone. I was hungry for a cupcake or something along the lines of cake; however, I knew she wouldn’t make a cake for me, and I failed at cooking and baking. After she ate lunch, she laid on the couch in the foyer and took a nap. After her nap, she went to Erik’s room and knocked on the door. Since the morning, Erik had been sitting in a chair with his back turned to the door. When Delilah knocked again, he perked up, a soft smile gathering on his lips. He closed his eyes and listened for another knock, however, Delilah had given up, and she ran away from the door. She knew I was right; she didn‘t want to admit that I was right. Erik looked a bit sad when there was no more knocking on his door.

       Delilah cleaned for a while because she had nothing else to do and she was a maid after all. She made herself dinner, then ate it and went to Madame Giry’s room and knocked on the door harder than she had before. Madame Giry did not even look at the door. Discouraged, Delilah went back and cleaned more. She took her frustrations out by taking a Persian rug and beating it to get the dust out, but ended up coughing like crazy with dust flying everywhere. I laughed, then she went back up the stairs to see what I was doing. “ May I go on the internet?” She asked me, and I nodded, switched off the camera for an empty room and handing her the mouse and keyboard. Together, we scrolled through the internet for a while, then she yawned and fell asleep in the chair. I picked her up and tucked her into her bed. She didn’t wake up from her sleep when I picked her up and put her under her blankets, which was fortunate because if she did wake up she would have punched me in the face. But she was cute when she was sleeping.

      I went back up to my room, sat in my chair, and surveyed Erik. He’d been pacing around in his room with his head tilted downwards all day, and now he finally looked up. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and walked to the door. He unlocked it and opened it, walking out into the hallways. He went down to Delilah’s room, and smiled at her. He stroked her hair and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and she shifted then settled, having no idea he was there for he’d slipped into the room as soundlessly as a ghost. _“Dormez bien, ma petite fille.”_ He said, a soft smile curling on his lips. Then he left the room, going up the stairs.

       I opened the door before he got there, and he walked in, sitting in the chair that Delilah would have sat in. He looked at the screen, then at me. “ You’re okay?” I asked him, and he nodded.

“ I think I will be. It will be hard for quite some time, but eventually this pain will dull and fade. I have my son and daughter, and that is all I need.” Erik said, turning his head and smiling at me. “ May I have a hug?”

“ Of course.” I said, and I gave him a hug. No one had ever called me their son before, and it took me a few minutes to fully compute what was going on. Chronologically aged, I was a year or two older than Erik, but in reality, he was a hell of a lot older, so it was suitable for him to be my sort of adopted Dad. “ May I have some ice cream?”

“ Why would I deny you ice cream? I don’t know why you haven’t made yourself a sundae already.” Erik chuckled and let go of me, then left.

      He came back with a large ice cream sundae, which he handed to me and sat down in the chair. I took a large amount in the spoon he’s given me and licked it before shoving the whole amount into my mouth, eating quickly despite the urge to savor the taste. Erik looked at the cameras, “ I never told you how much I liked this system.”

“ Oh?” I took another spoonful. “ Yes, you can see absolutely everything almost all at once-much better than the old double-sided mirror method.”

“ I can imagine that it would be.” I said, “ Do you have tunnels like that here?”

“ Yes, many tunnels.”

“ Can I see them?”

“ Well, I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”

“ We can explore them tomorrow.” I said, “ It would be good to know an escape route if there was ever a need for one, and just to know them so in case someone comes for me I can hide.” I took another spoonful of the ice cream, no longer savoring it and eating it quickly, enjoying the taste, then finishing it off a little quicker than I should have, but considering I hadn’t eaten for as long as Madame Giry and Erik were in solitude. I didn’t know why I didn’t just go downstairs and prepare the food myself even if I was a horrible cook, realizing I had done it as a sign of missing Erik unintentionally. I did enjoy his company after all, plus laziness must have played a key factor. 

“ That is a wise idea. If a father does not show their son or daughter how to properly navigate their maze then after their death the maze would fall apart.” Though I enjoyed the thought that he thought of me as a son, I had to admit I didn't feel quite the same emotion about him. 

“ You’re not going to die any time soon.”

“ L, I could face a slayer tomorrow and be killed. I lived by the sword so I would die by the sword; this would be honorable and acceptable.”

“ Yes, but my reasoning tells me you will not die soon. You fight incredibly well, no doubt past your years in experience, and have lived longer than 75% of the monsters in the fifth Earl position. A part of the 75% whom didn’t live as long as you was-”

“ My predecessor.” Erik said giving a downcast glance. “ And I have killed more slayers than he has. All the more acceptable…I would not care if they killed me...however I care for these people, the monsters, that has taken me in. I never fit in among mankind, but as a monster, I am respected.”

“ I guess that’s just how it works.” I said, “ Considering that monsters are so different than humans. I was always a monster whom sometimes felt human before I became a monster physically. Now I feel more human than ever and I have no idea why…perhaps it was the Kira case that drew my human side out of me midst my inhuman thirst for justice and afterwards it failed to wane away. Maybe my views of what is a monster and what is a human have been blurred, and I am merely a monster whom thinks they are human. It wouldn‘t surprise me if that was the case.”

“ You also had almost found love, one of the strongest and most voracious and craving emotions. It carves into your soul…it carved the human into you.” Erik said, “ You think mostly in a technical sense, L, with little room to let the true emotions of people in. This makes a larger room for psychological reasoning which sometimes is not the way things work, especially in this world. However, if things don’t work out the way you intended them too due to reasoning, you are able to make up another theory automatically as if you were intending on it all along.”

“ It’s interesting when someone meets the person with almost the same mental capacity as them.” I looked to Erik, who smirked.

“ You’re still young, L, and you’re as smart as a vampire whom is well over 100 years old. When you are my age, you will no doubt have surpassed my knowledge and understanding.” Erik said, “That’s even if I’m alive to see it.”

“ You’re going to live, Erik.” I said, “ What did I just tell you before?”

“ I know…please bare with me, L, I am weakened and all I am thinking of is death and my past life. Like Ciel has said in so many ways I must pull myself forward and out of the depths of my despair which I am trying to do so desperately…in my mind the way in which I speak is justified. I have always endured great pain, for a while that was not so, and now it’s come back.”

“ It’s going to cease again, you just need to go back into the world that made you happy for a while.” I said, “Do you wish to take a walk?”

“ A walk? Dear god, the boy whom stays indoors for copious amounts of his life is asking me to go on a walk with him outside? The tides have turned.” Erik joked, and I snickered.

“Why not?”

“Alright.” Erik smiled, and got up from the chair. I did likewise, slipping into a forgotten and uncomfortable pair of shoes. Shoes were uncomfortable mostly because I always walked barefoot, however considering how cold it was, I would have to wear them. I got a long forgotten windbreaker from the closet and put it on, then followed Erik. From a closet in the hall, he got a long flowing black cape and a black wide-brimmed panama hat, put them on, and then we walked down to the front door and out into the city.

       The city was more alive at night than it had been in the day. More people walked the streets, coming in and out of shops, a few bowing at Erik and I in acknowledgment of our royalty. A few gave nods, but all of them in some way acknowledged our presence. A small smile was curled on Erik’s lips, and it was a combination of a true and fake smile; this was just what he needed.

***

      I woke up. It was late, and the slight light in the Underworld was long since gone. I shifted slightly, noticing more so the embrace that held me close but not tightly. The arms around me moved a bit when I shifted. I hadn’t woken him up, but when vampires slept, they slept more than usual, and would stay awake longer. So Nico would sleep for over 10 hours, and I could not wake him up by merely shifting. I slipped from his grasp, and sat up. I was tempted to call Sebastian to bring me a cup of tea, however, it was rather late, and he would question why I was up. However, if I made the cup of tea myself, there was more of a chance he would not wake up.

       I got on my robe and silently hovered a few inches above the floor, getting down to the kitchen. I went in soundlessly, grabbing a pot from one of the high shelves, and from another getting a few packets of tea. I gently let my feet hit the floor, turned on the stove, and filled the pot with water. Once that was done, I set it on the stove, and waited. Because of the powerfulness of the burner, it took a few seconds for the tea to begin to boil. I lowered the temperature and opened the tea packets, putting them in the water. I waited for them to steep, taking them by the string and pulling them around in the hot water, then taking a spoon and pressing them up against the side of the pot, making sure there was as much of the flavor added as possible, then I threw them out. I took a cup from the cabinet and poured it into the cup, then waited a few seconds before taking a sip. “ Young Master, exactly what are you doing?” I sighed, I must have woken him up by the sound of the trash bin when I threw away the tea bags.

“ I made myself tea.”

“ You could have asked me to make it for you.”

“ Then you would have asked me why I am up, Sebastian, and more than likely would have asked me to go back to sleep.”

“ Master, you know I’d never say 'no' to your requests unless it meant putting you in harm's way, but I suppose you got one part of your assumption right. Why are you up?”

“ I don’t know, Sebastian. I don’t even remember my dream before this if I even had one…all I remember about it was blue.”

“ Blue?”

“ Yes, light blue like a baby’s blanket, it soft and warm.”

“ You sound like you were having a good dream, Master.”

“ I suppose.”

“ I wonder why you would wake up then.”

“ I don’t know, Sebastian.” I said, “ And I am going to finish this tea.”

“ I would expect you too.” Sebastian smiled, “ are you bringing up a cup for Master Nico?”

“ He’s sleeping, and I wouldn’t want to disturb him.”

“ How kind of you.”

“ You should go back to sleep too, Sebastian.” I said, “ There is no use in keeping you up.”

“ Much obliged, Young Master.” Sebastian bowed and left the kitchen.

        When finished with the tea, I put the pot in the sink for Bardroy to see and clean the next day, then began to go back to my room. Something felt amiss as I walked through the darkened halls, so as I passed by a window without the shades closed, I looked outside. Nothing seemed out of place outside, and there wasn’t a trace of other beings except for those far off in the streets enjoying the night scene. I closed the shades and kept walking. I had almost gotten to my room when I heard then sharp knocking. I quickly ran to the front door, and looked out. “ I COME FOR A SESSION WITH THE EARL.” A voice yelled desperately. I let them in before they broke down the door. The demon looked frantically at me, and I looked at the person in her arms. “ S-Surely he isn’t supposed to be here.”

It was Jason Grace, the son of Zeus, in her arms.

“ No,” I agreed, “ he isn’t supposed to be here.” Sebastian was by my side. “ Sebastian, take Mr. Grace to a guest room and tend to him.”

“ Yes, my Lord.” Sebastian took Jason into his arms and went up the stairs.

The frantic demon let out a few breaths of relief. “ Every Earl in this segment…every Earl…”

“ Yes, what of them?”

“ Refused him! Even if he did those things, he’s still a child! Usually demons do not take pity and even enjoy the loss of human and or demigod children but I just couldn’t stop seeing the Mother’s forlorn face in my heart!”

“ Jason Grace’s Mother died when he was very young. No, you have probably just avoided a war with the gods.” As the woman calmed, I remembered the face. A few months prior, her son had been killed. It was common for demon children to be killed, however, this Mother had taken the death harder than most. It did not surprise me she would make an attempt to save a person or demon injured on the street. “However, you can trust that I won’t kill him.” I said, and she nodded, then left, walking into the night she’d appeared from. I closed and locked the door, then went up to my room.

       Nico was still asleep, but seemed to be slowly awakening, I gently shook his shoulder, and he woke up. “ Ciel it’s not morning yet.” He said, “ Why are you waking me up?”

“ The servant’s quarters.”

“ What?”

“ Something is here and I don’t want it to see you.”

“ What is it?”

“ I do not see it fit to tell you, but until it leaves, you’ll be staying in the servant’s quarters. Until I tell you, you are not authorized to leave them. Sebastian will bring you down the things you need for the day.”

“ Okay,” He yawned and got up. I was almost a bit taken aback that he didn’t ask any more questions.


	18. The Investigation's Beginning

***

        “So, why am I staying here again?” I asked Ciel as I laid on the pullout couch in the servants’ quarters. “Jason Grace-”

“Jason?”

“Yes.”

“Continue.”

“Is upstairs. He is bloodied up rather badly, and so he will be here until we can get him back above ground.”

“ How do you intend to do that?”

“I’ll have two of the servants escort him back to Camp Jupiter.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” I said, I knew it was better if I didn’t see Jason. “ Will he even know it was you?”

“ No.” Said Ciel, walking over to the hallway. He knocked on one of the doors. I closed my eyes and fell back into sleep.

***

      I skillfully tied a blind over Mr. Grace’s eyes. His wounds were properly cleaned and dressed, and now he was awake. “ W-Where am I?”

“ You’re safe, and you are on your way back to Camp Half-Blood.”

“ I doubt that-” he tried to get up, but luckily, I’d thought he would do that so I tied his wrists and ankles to the bed.

“ Calm yourself, Mr. Grace.” I said, “ I’m not prone to lying as humans are. What I say is true; by dawn, you shall be back at Camp Jupiter.” I looked at Bardroy and Finnian behind me. They were slightly tired looking, and eyed Jason. “ Take him back to where he came from.” I said, and the two of them nodded. I used my powers to have him be hog-tied, and Bardroy slung him over his shoulder, and the two began to walk.

***

     I decided to break the silence. “ So, Mr. Grace, is it true you were raised by wolves?” I asked, and Bard glanced at me.

“ Well Lupa is a special wolf though I was raised at one point by my sister Thalia.“ Jason said, “ Why are you asking?”

“ I-I just wanted to know if it was true, that’s all.” I said, “ That’s rather impressive that she did all of that.”

“ Uh, thanks?” Jason said, “ I'm always grateful for my older sister.”

“ Well we aren’t all raised by future Huntresses,” I said, “ I myself am one for nature.”

“ So, you’re a nymph?”

“ No, I’m a demon, but I’m a demon who likes sunshine and flowers and nature.” I said, and he tilted his head to one side.

“ I didn’t think it was possible for demons to like that kind of stuff.” Said Jason, “ I thought you guys liked chaos, blood and darkness.”

“ Well, those are swell, but I prefer sunshine and nature.” I said, “ I was actually kind of sad when I’m here, but I must follow my Master’s orders.”

“ Who is your Master?” Jason asked, “ I know I’m in the Underworld and every demon around wants me dead. I don’t know why I’m here.”

“ Well,” Bard said, “ you’re going back to where you came from, so I suppose you can have that much certain.”

“ Somehow I’m still not certain.” Jason said, “ Considering most of the demons down here have tried to kill me.”

“ What brought you into the uncharted part of the Underworld anyways?” I said, “ It’s awfully dangerous for a demigod down here, and we might die if we get caught.”

“ No, that’s not a problem. I have a dagger in my boot as well as a pistol. If someone comes, I’ll catch them off guard, and you take Jason and run as fast as you can.” Bard said, “ I’ve been bombarded and surrounded before, and you better be sure as hell I can get out of it again.”

I nodded, many people outnumbered us when attacking the mansion, however we always prevailed. We’d be dead if we didn’t. “ You guys fight a lot by the sounds of it.” Jason said, “ I’m just wondering what exactly you fight.”

“ We fight a lot of things; mostly anything that threatens our Master.” I said, “ Or anything the head servant doesn’t take care of.”

“ The head servant was the guy who tended to my wounds?”

“ Yes, which is another reason why you should trust us. If we wished you to die, after all, you would have died a while ago.” I turned around and looked behind me. The city and the English quarter of the Underworld was long gone, and the road was trap rock, going through a valley of skeletal trees and flowers native to only the Underworld. Above us, a few drops leaked down from the stalactites. We were under an ocean. The Underworld had many large lakes created from an abnormally dripping stalactite from under an ocean, but the Underworld didn’t have oceans. We’d hit a lake soon as well as a town or too which we’d have to avoid. There was also many mountains as seen in the distance. “ Hey, have we ever walked to America before?”

“ No, we haven’t.” Bard said, “ however, Sebastian said to walk westward and get to the closest exit of the Underworld, then shadow-travel to Camp Jupiter and drop Jason off there.”

“ Why can’t you just shadow-travel back to the camp in general?”

“ With a demigod as powerful as you, Jason, if we cause a disturbance by shadow-traveling with you, there’s more of a chance we’ll be in danger.” Bard explained, and he nodded in understanding. When we reached the top of a hill, in the distance I could see a town with a fire in the middle of it. That's an entrance to the mortal world. They were always in different forms, but I could sense it was a portal. Noting the portal’s presence too, Bard began to walk quicker soon passing me, and I had to run a short distance to catch up with him.

***

      I was bored, I had to admit that I was. I knew Dante and Luka were too. I woke up as I did every morning, with Luka shaking my shoulder to get up. I went down to breakfast after getting ready for the day, and sat at the head of the table. “Master.” After handing me my breakfast, Claude gave me an envelope. I broke the seal on it, and spilled out the contents. It was events of the Earls of the Underworld, a status report and event reminder. I glazed over it briefly to get the events; it may surprise you to know that I am a quick reader and learner, which is why paperwork bores me so. However, my eyes slowed when I saw something about Jason Grace, the son of Zeus. _Sent on quest to the Underworld and was horribly beaten by demons among his path._ I began to read the article aloud. “ _Jason Grace, son of Zeus, was sent on a quest to the Underworld and horribly beaten by demons among his path. Why he’d left the charted Underworld region where 95% of the demigod quests to the Underworld have been occurring for the past 225 years is unknown as is his quest, however, he was sent back up by the sunrise of Thursday. No further details were issued in the report done by Earl Ciel Phantomhive._ ” I snickered, “ figures Ciel takes pity on them. I kicked him out.”

“ Where was I in all of this?” Luka said, “ we had a demigod here and you didn’t even bother to tell me?!”

“ It was only for a few minutes, Luka. I locked the woman out, why would I pity him? He shouldn’t have left the charted parts of the Underworld. It doesn’t surprise me Phantomhive would cave in though.” I said, flicking the paper from my fingers and incinerating it in mid air.

“ Nico probably begged him. Speaking of which, don’t you have any urge to visit your brother?”

“ Not at the moment. That wayward brother of mine could bring trouble about for me.” Dante said, he smiled, “ but all the more reason for me to want too. I’m horribly bored, aren’t you, Alois?”

“ Yes, I figured you’d be too. So, when do you want to go?” I leaned on the table, “ today, tomorrow?”

“ How about this afternoon? That’s a nice time to visit people.” Dante said, and I nodded.

 

       Ciel’s mansion was separated by iron fences from the two other mansions of the other Earls he never talked too. It was snug in the middle, surrounded by black iron fencing, and pristinely kept. Beyond the iron fence in the back was a portal to Tartarus. I could see Finny, the gardener boy, inside the fenced area clipping hedges. The carriage stopped outside the gates, and Claude opened the door. I got out first, then Dante. Finny waved to the two of us, and I waved back. The gardener came to the gates and opened, them, letting us in. I ran on the gray cobblestone pathway and pounded on the door. I chuckled when Sebastian opened it. “ Hello, Lord Trancy,” he nodded to me, “ Lord Trancy.” He nodded to Dante.

“ Hello Sebby!” I said, knowing the informality would irk him.

“ Yes, hello Bassy.” Dante followed my lead with a smile and Grell’s nickname, which at the mention sent a flicker of annoyance in his eyes. Nico came down the stairs, and Dante gave him a hug. “ Hello brother!” He said cheerfully, “ I got bored so I came to visit you!”

“ Oh, hey.” Nico gave him a hug back.

“ I heard about Jason.”

“ You did?”

“ Yes.”

“ Well I suppose every Earl has by now.” Nico said, “ He is the son of Zeus after all, news about him is always major.”

“ I wonder if the people on Olympus know of this whole thing with the Earls protecting us and such. Do they even know that the Earls exist?” Dante released Nico from the hug. “ Surely they must side with monsters of their elements themselves.”

“ I never thought of it that way, but I think it’s just my Dad who sides with monsters.”

“ Or sees the monster’s side of things.”

“ That is true.” Nico contemplated, “ he certainly didn’t hesitate to have you and I be made into vampires.”

“ Maybe there was stuff going on between them and that soothed it.” Dante said, “ We’ll never know, especially because Erik was above ground so he could have only gotten so much information. Speaking of the phantom, how is L? Have you heard from them?”

“ Last I heard about Erik was from Ciel.”

“ Oh? You visited Erik and L?”

“ No, only Ciel.” Nico glanced downward.

“ Oh, I see. A little falling out?” Dante said, “ That’s unfortunate. Has it soothed yet?”

“ Yes it has, Dante,” Nico said, “ I suppose we were bound to hit a fall out, and I’m happy it’s over with.”

“ Well, if you didn’t go with Jason, I can only assume that things got a whole lot better.” Dante smiled, “ so, what news of L?”

“ Well, Krista is dead-”

“ What?”

“ Yes, she died at the hands of slayers turning the change-over.”

“ How unfortunate, I was quite looking forward to seeing her being a vampire, it would have been interesting.” Dante frowned, “ and, no other happy news? Well, I suppose Ciel wouldn’t focus on the happy side of things, would he?”

***

“ Hello Dante, Hello Alois,” Ciel walked down the stairs. There was a tall man with red hair behind him.

“ Oh,” I said, “ who is this?”

“ That is Drossel, he’s a new servant here.” Nico explained, giving a small smile to the servant.

“ Drossel…” I repeated, “ The name sounds familiar.” I shrugged, it wasn’t worth the time or effort to remember.

“ Are you going somewhere?” Dante asked Ciel, seeing as he was wearing his jacket. In the Underworld, there was no sky therefore there was no snow, so winter was just bitter cold in which all of the plants still grew.

“ Yes, I’ve been sent on an investigation which Nico will accompany me on.”

Nico nodded, getting on his coat.

“ We can come along!” I said, “ Surely two Earls and two sons of Hades on one case is better than one!”

Ciel sighed, “ why not.”

          “ I will drive the carriage.” Sebastian said, shooting Claude a glare.

“ Fine.” Said Claude, “ I will sit in the front with you.”

“ No, Drossel will do that. You sit inside and tend to the Masters.”

“ I am the head servant of the Trancy household, as the Phantomhive head butler you aren’t allowed to tell me what to do.”

“ Claude, suck it up and sit in the back with us.” I said, “ I want to see what this is, for I believe it might be murder! I haven’t done a good murder case in a good long time so hurry it up before the body gets cold!” I got into the carriage, as did Claude.

“ How did you know it was a murder case?” Nico asked me, and I shrugged.

“ I just assumed, mostly Earls are called out on murder cases which hasn’t happened in my area for a long time. I suppose other people would be happy about that, considering the murder is generally a mass murder and brutal if we’re called in. Either that or it shows the signs of belonging to a criminal whom murders more than what’s common and brutal so we have to check it out to see if they’re in the area. Either way it’s fun to me.” I smiled, and Nico averted his glance from me to look out the window.

“ That doesn’t surprise me at all,” Nico admitted, then he looked to Dante, “ you feel the same way, right?”

“ I would be lying if I said anything else.” Dante said with a hint of laughter to his voice, “ at least you accept that now.”

“ I wish I couldn’t but I can’t help myself too.” Nico said, “ there are a lot of things I excuse now that surprise me…I feel like I’m feeling less and less for things that sickened me. I’m not even scared about losing myself anymore…I don’t feel fear as much as I used too.”

“ You and I are soulless, Alois and Ciel are soulless, our butlers are soulless, Nico there’s very little we can feel at all and even less we can feel strongly.”

The carriage stopped. “ We’re here already?”

“ No,” Ciel said, “ we can’t be, our destination is an hour away.”

Dante frowned, “ someone’s outside. Stay silent and hit the floor.”

***

    Dante wouldn’t joke about something like that, so I got onto my knees and laid on the floor. The others did also, and I saw a silhouette pass the carriage windows that had their shades pulled down. Something grabbed my hand, and I turned to look at Dante whom was the grabber of my hand. “ Is anyone in the carriage?” A gruff voice asked from outside.

“ No, nothing but our cargo.” Sebastian answered, “ The Earl has not yet left his house in the country.”

“ Open the doors.”

“ Sir-”

“ Open them.” There was a noise of a fight going on outside, and a loud thud. Suddenly the carriage went with a start, faster than a sports car. I hit my head on the seat in the midst of the abrupt movement and blacked out.

            A black sheet covered my eyes when I woke up. “ Dante? Dante where are you?”

“ Hush you, I’m here.” Dante took the jacket from my eyes, and I surveyed the carriage. “ I thought you might have a headache from hitting your head on the seat, so I figured I’d put my coat over your eyes so the light didn’t bother you.”

“ Thank you.” I said, looking at Ciel and Nico. They were there, and sitting rather close to each other. In fact, they were holding hands and cuddled against each other, sleeping. “ How long have I been out?”

“ 20 minutes. You see, they got knocked out too so I made Ciel lean on Nico and have them hold hands.” Dante said, “ I thought it would be nice for them to wake up close to each other. Claude is sitting up in the front of the carriage with Sebastian and Drossel, he’s on the roof. It was Drossel who made the carriage go that fast that abruptly, and he apologized in advance.”

I sighed, “ ah well, at least we have a case to investigation when we get to our destination.”


	19. Masters of the Underworld

       Unfortunately, the body was already cold. It swung from a hook and had a pile of black demonic blood still slowly dripping. It was up rather high in the rafters. I recognized it, “well, I’ll be exorcised; it’s the woman who helped Jason Grace.”

“Indeed.” Said Ciel, “well, at least we can file her death properly.”The officials sent to help us climbed up the rafters, but Ciel held up his hand. “Halt, we need to assess her death from this angle.” We began to climb the rafters. I pointed at her hands.

“Fingertips are cut off, no doubt after the time of death.” I noted, “Someone wanted to drain the blood to make a message of some sort.”

“Blood…the woman took Jason to safety because she pitied children due to her son dying. She mentioned about her heart being filled with sympathy which is why she helped him.” Ciel said, “And her heart has been torn out. Her eyes are closed. Sebastian,” Ciel called from the rafters, his voice echoing, “Take some blood and sample it for drug use.” Drossel handed Sebastian a brief case that he opened. He took some blood with an eyedropper and put drops into the solutions. One turned red, which meant a positive in that particular solution. A common demon slaying poison called root-vain was used to knock out the demons and slowly kill them, usually making a painless. “My Lord, root-vain poison is present and in strong amounts due to the vibrancy.” Sebastian announced, “It seems to be the only one.” He took more blood in the eyedropper and packed it away in the brief case.

“So all of these wounds were transferred after the root-vain was used, more than likely inserted by that dart.” Ciel pointed to a purple and orange dart pointing from the back of her neck. “Her internal organs have also been ripped out, seeing as her torso is hollow and the bones remained. Root-vain can be taken out by boiling. Her legs have been hacked off and I do not see her brain.”

“ There have been traces of cannibalism in the area, yes?” I asked an official, whom nodded grimly.

“Food has gone scarce here…” the official said.

“Orange and purple…purple may symbolize Camp Jupiter and orange Camp Half-Blood.” Nico said, “This might have been punishment at first and then dismemberment for consumption.”

“I agree,” Ciel said. “The message from the killer was at first a warning to those whom help the demigods.”

“They might be after you, Nico.” Dante said, grimly, “Also me, however less likely me as the message may pertain to those only in the camp. If they wanted to kill the people who helped demigods they would want to kill the demigods themselves, right?”

“ Or it could have been just Jason.” I inferred, “he’s the son of Zeus, you two are sons of Hades. There’s a large difference.”

“But there is still a chance.” Ciel said, looking around. “Take the body down and bring it to your Undertaker; the investigation is finished.” The officials nodded and took her down from the hook, whispering other less likely assumptions. We climbed down from the rafters, and I noticed that the light outside was waning more and more.

“We shouldn’t stay here overnight, the killer may be here.” I said, “However, the killer could possibly already be at our mansions and killed our servants and….HOLY SHIT LUKA! We have to get home!”

***

       Claude and Drossel rode Alois and Dante back to their mansion while Sebastian, Nico, and I went to find a room to stay overnight. It would be riskier traveling because if the killer was on the road, there was no telling where he would go due to all of the different paths along the way. Of course, I didn’t tell Alois that. The inn creaked randomly due to the heating system, making me jump and draw my gun for every single creak that sounded like a footstep. Due to my constant alertness, Nico fell onto the floor and slept on the floor. Eventually I realized that it was a sleepless night, so I read an Edgar Allan Poe book that someone had left in the desk. Works of literature and dark poetry in hotels of the Underworld were as common as bibles in hotel rooms of the human world. I used to read Edgar Allan Poe works, and I read them until I did not see another copy, then found myself reading all different authors of poetry and horror. I hadn’t read a collection of his works for some time, so I decided it wouldn’t be that bad of an idea to read it considering my current condition of restlessness. As my tired eyes lingered on the final lines of “The Tell-Tale Heart,” I swore I saw a faint shadow across the wall, and quickly put the book down, drawing my pistol. There was silence except for the rapid sound of my heartbeats, then a creaking in the floor. I turned to it with the pistol, getting up from the bed for the first time sense I’d decided to sleep in it. “ Boo.” I whipped around and nearly fired at Nico. “ Don’t do that!” I snapped as he chuckled softly.

“ You’ve been awake the entire night, Ciel, nothing’s going to get me.” Nico said in a frail effort to soothe my nerves. “ You’re not going to be dismembered for consumption, I’m not going to get my heart ripped out or my internal organs, and if I do I’m sure he wouldn’t just leave you lying there.”

“ We’d die together.” I noted, “ It would be a gruesome find for Sebastian in the morning. He’d probably be happy and relieved with being free.”

“ He didn’t strike me as ’happy’ when you were gone for a while.” Nico said, “ He seemed grumpy and moody, especially at me. Hey, I was the reason you left, so I guess it was validated.” He sat on the bed, looking at the open book. “ That’s not going to help.”

“ Nico, I’m over 100 years old and a demon at that. I don’t think slightly frightening stories will affect me too much.”

“They kept you awake at one point, didn’t they? I mean, you’re certainly not asleep.”

“ I don’t think I’m going to get any sleep in this place.”

“ Probably not, but it was worth the effort.” Nico got under the covers and closed his eyes, turning off the light and leaving me in the darkness. With a sigh, I laid next to him, closed the book and slip closer next to him until I was leaning against him. Nico turned to face me and held me. “ Better?”

“ Yes.” His familiar aura flowed around me, his body was warm and soft against mine and as I put my head against his chest, I could hear his heart beating as well as smell the soft scent of his cologne mixed with his sweet natural smell. I became less aware of the creaking in the inn around me whether I wanted to or not, and was finally feeling the side effects of not sleeping earlier. My eyes begged me to close them and just fall into slumber, and I decided that that would be a reasonable solution to a mostly restless night. “ Good night, Ciel.”

“ Good night, Nico.”

            “ Masters? It is time to wake up.” I opened my eyes and glanced up at him from Nico’s side. “ Good morning, Sebastian.” Nico let me go when he said this, sitting up in the bed then getting out of this.

“ There weren’t any attacks, My Lord, but I’d leave quickly.” Sebastian said with a grin on his face, “ then perhaps you two can get some more sleep, which I would suggest given the lack of sleep you two had last night.”

***

       I turned my back to the cold night wind, flipped up the collar of my jacket. I looked to Delilah, she was aright even though she was covered in blood. Madame Giry would have to clean our coats later. The abnormal amount of slayers was increasingly slowly, having increased to 150 a night versus the previous year of 6 to 10. “ There is only so much we can do, Delilah.” I said, “ It’s almost disheartening-and more than five councils tomorrow will be about people dying due to slayers invading the Underworld. This madness will never end...we are equals in slaughtering, humans and monsters, yet we fight each other, screaming that we are going beyond our means in torture and killing, never admitting it that we are the same.”

“ Erik, it’s too late to listen to your deep shit.” Delilah sighed, “ and to late for me to compute it. I could curl up on that bench and sleep. Please tell me that there are no more people to kill tonight? Oh my god I can’t believe I just said that.”

“ No, there is no one else on the list I was sent,” I said, snickering. “ Now let’s go home.”

        “ Madame.” I promptly handed her my coat, as did Delilah. “ I still have no finished the coats from yesterday.” She told me, “ The blood went all the way down into the lining of the jackets.”

“ It is alright, Madame.” I said, “ It isn’t your fault. How is L?”

“ His appetite has decreased even further.” Madame said, “ I think you need to talk to him. He really only eats sweets and blood…he’s still so thin…”

“ I’ll check on him.” I said, and went up to his room.

       He was watching Kira case files again, curled up in the chair like usual, and unfinished plate of cake in front of him. I knew precisely what was wrong; it wasn’t something I could fix. I sat in the chair next to his. “ Is something wrong with the cake?” I asked even though I knew that wasn’t.

“ No,” he responded, his eyes glancing at me for a moment and then looking back at one person. Light.

“ It’s not healthy, L, for you to be looking at this.” I said, “ It’s hurting you.”

“ I know it is, but I can’t stop.” L said, “ I don’t know what it is.”

“ Maybe you should help us kill slayers.” I said, “ True, it may be dangerous, but I think you’d like finding them and then bringing justice.”

“ No, Erik.” L shook his head, “ what you do only reminds me of Kira.”

“ How so?”

“ You try to solve the problem of the slayers by killing them before they kill us, much like Kira’s motives of killing the criminals before they bring more havoc into the world. It’s a false sense of justice…I know it’s not your fault. After all, if you didn’t follow my Dad’s orders and his quota of dead slayers then you’d be executed. Nevertheless, it irks me because of how it is…it’s like Kira, so much Kira…I can’t stop thinking about Light, about that, about how he wanted a perfect world. You know there isn’t going to be one, which is how you two are different. You just kill the slayers to get rid of them so they don’t kill anyone else…I have yet to accept that there is no other way even though it’s clear that that is true.” L silenced for a few moments, and it hit me that it was my doings that hurt him so; my doings that brought him back to relive the days when he was trying to stop Kira. And this time, he could do nothing but sit back and watch me do that, and that aggravated him because at least with Kira he could try to stop him. Now he had to just accept what I did forever…I wanted to apologize, I didn’t want to slay things that much, I missed the simpler times, so many things flooded my head at once all saying something about the deed that I committed. It wasn’t completely his Father’s fault, after all a mind says things that the hand does not do, however if the hand disobeys and or lays limp and useless without repair it may be cut off. That was how Hades treated his Earls no matter how menial he made their tasks or how major, we needed to do them. Treason against Hades was unheard of; even if you were against him, you never said anything and accepted begrudgingly in silence. The people feared, honored, and loved the Earls, the Earls feared Hades with slight homage, and that was how he liked it. There was no way to desert him, which was why when a big opportunity like siding with Gaea or Kronos appeared people took it, for it was the only way for them to express their true opinions. Once it was all said and done, they had to follow Hades again. Mutiny was unheard of due to fear and lack of any other candidates to lead the entire vast Underworld. When fear wasn’t enough…we all knew how powerful Hades was, we‘d never win. In short, I had to be almost like Kira and could do nothing to escape it or L. L knew, and, like most monsters, begrudgingly accepted yet still let the frustration and hopelessness run him. We both sat in silence admitting the trap we’d been ensnared in until I broke it.

“ When I was the Opera Ghost, I was trapped in the fact that humanity would never accept me. Now I am trapped as an Earl…I’ve spent my life trapped and I shall always be trapped.”

“ There was a time in which I was free.” L said, “ I was happy, young, my Mother was still alive.”

“ What was she like, L?” I said, “ You never talk about her.”

He closed his eyes, seeming to wish to make the memory seem more real and present. “ My most vivid memory is of the outdoors. My Mother was an environmental biologist. She loved to bring me outside, and I remember we were in the woods one day. She set a blanket down on the moss, I asked her questions, and we talked. I loved her, she was always giving me interesting facts and new words. I think she might have had a mental level close to mine when I look back. She died when I was 4, I had 2 years in foster homes, and was brought to Wammy’s at 6.”

“ You were younger than I suspected.” I said, “ Too young to be drowned by such expectations.”

“ No, I met the expectations with flying colors. So much so that A…” L shuddered. “ Let’s not talk about A.”

I nodded, “ yes. The past is gone and let it stay that way.”

***

        “ London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down, London bridge is falling down, My Fair Lady.” I sung softly as I walked down the hallways. And then I thought to myself, the house seems a bit empty, and oh, that’s why. Master and Lord Ciel went on an excursion to which I was not supposed to go but secretly wanted too anyway. I sighed, and then was stopped by Mey-Rin. “ Mr. Drossel!” She said in the high-toned voice, “ I lost one of Mr. Sebastian’s cats!” Ah, speak of the Raven.

“ Oh Mey-Rin, you know how angry the Master will be if he finds out one of his ghost kittens left the room.” I said with a sigh, thinking to myself what a terribly clumsy maid she was. That was the third mistake today that I’d had to fix. I kept count in my head. Bardroy: 2, Finny: 5, Mey-Rin: 3; alright so Finny took the prize.

        The somnolent kitten laid on the tweed couch in the den, and I every so carefully picked it up. It meowed a bit shocked, and swiped at my face. I found I could not feel pain, and smiled at the little kitten. It rested gently on my shoulder, chewing a bit on the side of my jacket. I sighed, put it in the Raven’s room, and went back to my duties. Perhaps if I let Mey-Rin fuss over finding the kitten for a bit, she’d stop making mistakes I thought to myself as I grabbed a vacuum from a closet. Swiftly, I vacuumed everywhere the fluffy little kitten had been. In my opinion, dolls were cuter, however considering the death stares I got when saying my opinion around the Raven I stopped saying it. He still did not trust me, which was a bit annoying, however considering my purpose was to serve Master Nico, I did not care at all. Sometimes I wondered to myself that perhaps I only have half of a soul, because I am rather emotionless at times. Perhaps that just makes me more suitable for my tasks. Any person with a soul or at least a normal one would have been shocked at the sight of the woman a few days ago, however, I was not in a slightest. It was a murder, nothing more and nothing less. Ah, but a mad person would not be perplexed and perturbed by such a display of horror. Ah yes, perhaps I merely was mad, nothing more and nothing less. Yet how could such a mad man like myself be able to serve so carefully, clean so diligently, and never have such a desire to injure or to kill? Perhaps not all mad men do. How could I, so insane, serve my Master without ever thinking a second thought about him or his orders? Perhaps it is only I, the mad, who’d served so blindly, not caring for myself but only for my Master’s welfare, my Master of whom I knew nothing. Ah, none but I. Walking down the hallways, the front door opened, letting the cold air invade. I closed it once the Raven had entered because he was the last one to enter. “ Drossel, could you make us some tea?” Master asked, and I bowed politely, going into the kitchen and making the tea.

        Lord Ciel liked his tea strong, and I knew to put a few tea bags into the warm water, then pour it into a delicate porcelain teapot and bring it upstairs quickly so it would not get cold before it arrived on the cart where it would keep warm on the small heater. I opened the door with the tip of my shoe so I kept my hands on the pot, and opened the door. I nodded my head to gain acceptance to enter, and Lord Ciel nodded back, so I entered, leaving the pot of tea on the heater for a moment before realizing that Sebastian was making no move to pour the tea and their cups were empty. I poured a bit of the tea into Master’s cup first, then he thanked me and sipped the tea. I poured a bit into Lord Ciel’s cup, and he took a sip. “ The tea is fine.” He commented, his red eyes seeming to tell me he wanted to say more than what he had.

“ Isn’t this the first time you’ve made us tea?” Master asked, “ I can’t remember if you did so before.”

“ Yes, my Lord, it is.” The Raven responded to his question before I. I bowed in honor to my Master and went off to do my chores.

      True, I could have rested at the corners of the room all day until a word was spoken addressing myself, stand there listening intently to the conversation between the Masters of the house and resting idly in the corner. However, I could not stand the stares of the Raven, who’s cold red glance pierced my being suspiciously as though he was checking to make sure that I was proper to be around his Masters. True, very true, I believe that he believes that my Master has only him as a truly loyal and fully devoted servant, that he does not share them, but false, I silently try to remind him, that is false because I serve my Master. He believes he is alone in his position but no, that is as false as saying that there was sunlight in the Underworld. However, the red-eyed glance kept me away and from saying how wrong his thoughts were on the matter. His hearkening and ever so slightly aggravated eyes unnerved me to the point at which I could not stand their presence upon me…mad I may be, but cautious I am. The Raven had killed me before, and I cannot serve my Master well when dead upon the mansion floor. I served him by cleaning his room before the Raven did so I thought to myself all credit goes to him because he is around Master so much. I did many things for my Master no doubt the Raven took credit for, so my devotion was as silent as a false non-believer whom in silence venerated and sacrificed to their god. Perhaps Master believed what the Raven thought. It was true, or at least for now, I believed so. Truth…true as the moment when the sound of a gun rips through mysteriously still air as the bullet is in motion, as true as the glint of the sword’s tip before it goes in to deliver the final blow, as true as the feel of the wooden guillotine underneath the neck of it’s next criminal, as true as the end which you do not know until the moment it hits and the start of something of which you thought you were sure of before the true moment hits you. I tore myself away from the thought of the truth as it glanced onto an unexpected topic tapping ever so lightly on the door of my thoughts. How did I die the first time? I did not know. All I knew of was the life I lived, the second horrible life and nothing of the first. The first could have been nice for all I knew of it. However, now I was in my third life, knowing of the second and knowing nothing of the first. I wished to know how the first ended, which was part of the reason I pondered death so much. I remembered the first time I tried to recall my first life. I woke up in a suit on a stainless steel table, staring at the harsh bright ceiling until I figured I could move. The Automaton maker smiled down at me. I recalled my second life, but not the first. It seemed like my life was never truly finished at the end-my life was a lie. Was it a surprise I was mad? Perhaps I was all along-

” Drossel.” I turned to my Master. He’d been following me?

“ Yes, Master.” I said, now snapping to alertness.

“ I would like to take a walk.” Master said, “ I don’t know…I feel like one, and Ciel told me not to go alone, so you’re quiet most of the time.” He shrugged, and walked past me.

“ Yes sir.” I said, validation swirling in my mind.

        Master was silent, and the large aviator’s jacket blew away from his thin frame. “ Master, that jacket is far too big for you.” I said, and he chuckled.

“ There’s a lot of me in this coat.” He said, “ I would never get rid of it.”

“ I’m sorry,” my mind flinched at the thought of offending him.

“ You don’t have to be, people have made fun of me for wearing it. It was a gift from my Dad.” Even worse for my pangs of remorse. “It is a little cold though. The main part of the Underworld was warm in the winter.”

“ I could not tell you, for I have never been there.” I said, feeling useless.

“ Were you ever outside that shop?” Master asked, a flash that held something like sympathy in his eyes.

“ In this life, no. My first foot in the Underworld was that which I placed when following you though the broken door.” I said, “ I like being inside, however, this walk would do me some good.”

“ This crowd is a little weird.” He murmured, “ I can’t say I blame you for wanting to stay inside all day.” We passed through the crowd and onto the cobblestone streets. My shoes were louder than his on the concrete; he moved almost silently in his shoes, almost like a ghost. Others walking in them weren’t nearly as quiet, especially after walking in the rain. I believe people now call them converse sneakers? I didn’t know until I had asked Finnian about them. He saw me eyeing them. “ Would you like to buy sneakers?”

“ No, Master, I would never ask you to buy me anything.” I said, “ You move rather silently.”

“ I suppose it’s something to do with being the son of Hades.” Master shrugged, looking up at the sky. “ The stalactites.”

“ What about them?” I asked, looking up at them.

“ Usually the witches down here perform a spell to make the sky look like an overcast versus stalactites.” Master noted, then shrugged. Suddenly, drops of water hit the ground. Master looked a bit confused. “ Rain, he said, “it, it doesn’t rain-” Drops began to hit the ground more quickly, soon rapidly. In a vain attempt to help him, I gave him my hat, getting the rain on my head. Some demons were confused and others were not.

“ Perhaps the rain above ground is severe and causing ground water to drip from the stalactites.” I offered, and Master shrugged.

“ Whatever, this won’t spoil my plans. Rain doesn’t bother me.” He began to walk on, and bought an umbrella that I held over him, getting myself wet in the rain. He did give me back my hat, however, which soothed the slight headache I acquired from not wearing it in the rain.

        We walked in silence, people bowing to Master knowing that he was the closest to king in the area. He paid them no acknowledgement, and I thought to myself why would he do that? The people adore him. He sighed when the crowd made way for him, and I tried to not let my confusion be shown on my countenance. I did not understand many things, including my Master that I revered. The people did not understand either, much to his annoyance. He ducked down streets where there were no people whatsoever, just silent townhouses. Flowers native to the Underworld sat as rain collected on them in window boxes, and the rain coated the steps to the house, changing their color from a light gray to a dark gray. “ They treat me like I’m a king and I don’t know why.” He said, “ Why?”

“ Because that is who you are to them no matter what you do.” I answered, “ You and I are the only ones on this street. None will kneel or bend in adoration of you now…this is exactly how you want it.”

Master nodded, “yes, Drossel. And with Ciel around it would have been worse.”

“ If that is how you wish it, my Lord, then that is the way it shall be done.” I said, “ if not around them, then only I.”

“ I like it that way…you’re a different servant from Sebastian,” Master’s words brought a smile to my lips. “ He seems to try to make me like the attention. Perhaps I’ll keep you in my company more often.” With those words, I forgot all about the Raven, of his stares, for what were they to the orders of my Master?

“ Thank you, my Lord. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”


	20. The State of Not Knowing Why-Part I

        _Hold the umbrella steady. Is he cold? Is he hungry? Are his feet tired?_ All of these I thought as I held the umbrella in the rain. He looked in thought as we walked, and I wondered just how far he and I would go. We walked a while more in the silence he loved, and I caught him glancing back a few times as though he was trying to make sure I was still present. What kind of servant would I be to leave my Master in the cold rain? Not a very good one. I did think to myself, however, when he would wish to turn back, because darkness was crawling in and slowly filling the area, diffusing itself around him and me. I looked around at our surroundings ever so cautiously in order not to lose sight of Master but to look out for fiends of the night with the intent of harming him or myself, however himself legions more important than I. Finally, he turned to me. Silently I thought to myself I hope he is saying let’s turn back Drossel but nay I told myself do not hope for what he will say just be happy he is addressing you and only you, not the Raven, not even his precious Lord Phantomhive. If Lord Phantomhive is precious to him, I realized, then I must protect him also so as not to harm my Master’s emotions. “ Drossel, does anything feel amiss to you?” He asked me, stopping briefly. I stopped also, my eyes scanning the area and my brain looking for an appropriate answer.

“ No, sir. Nothing feels amiss to me, however I am quite emotionless, so I would not trust what I say. Perhaps you are just getting leery due to nightfall setting in? Perhaps we should head back to the mansion.” I suggested, and Nico shook his head.

“ If something is amiss, I wish to find it.” Master said, “ I won’t stop walking and searching until I do.”

“ When we find it, Master, I shall destroy it. I shall destroy anything that causes you pain.”

“ I never really realized how devoted you were, Drossel.” Master said, “ though I have a feeling that now it’s not going to be anything big. It’s like, there’s nothing looming over me like the blade of a guillotine almost ready to come down. There are no threats to me or my life; there is just a sense of normalcy, doing cases, doing paperwork with Ciel, people coming for councils with him and I, it’s suddenly become habitual. Nothing has ever really been habitual with me…I’ve always moved around, shifted, tried to avoid things and ended up falling in anyways.”

I did not know what to say to my Master, I had a faint sense of what he was feeling, for my death had been inevitable and useless to my former Master. I’d been useless, yet now for some reason, I felt like I wasn’t with my new Master. “ You were never meaningless.” I said, “ You served your purpose in that life, and perhaps your purpose in this one is to live a life which is like this?”

“ I never fit in amongst the other demigods…I feel too well fit here…I like here better than there.“

“ Master, you do not have to force words off your tongue for a mere servant.”

“ Yes, Drossel, but I need constant reassurance I fit here, which makes me question it all. What do you think, Drossel?” Master turned to me, stopping, his eyes thoughtful yet slightly agonized by what was unknown to him. I pined to answer him, I searched my thoughts, rummaging through them like stacks of worthless newspapers with blurred headlines and scribbled out articles, searching for something that simply was not there. “ I-I do not know, Master.” I said, “ I do not wish to offend you. To be honest,” the words flew quickly off my tongue without acknowledgment to my wandering mind. “ To be honest, you were meant to end up here. Or, at least I think so. My thoughts…many are not clear, many are jumbled, few are straightforward and some are dead ends yet some are twisted labyrinths and I just do not know. I believe I am dreadfully mad, however, I only wish to be a proper servant to you, the servant you wish me to be. As a worshipper frantically pleases their god so they do not leave, if that god asks them ‘am I serving my purpose’ the worshipper always says yes in fear that that god would leave if they said no. Whether the worshipper said the right or wrong answer it is unknown to both the god and mortal worshipper, and perhaps it will never be known. I don’t know why you wander back to thoughts to reassure yourself, perhaps it is merely how you process such a rapid change in the pace of your life. Such emotions flooding you when you were once emotionless or felt very little at all or very varied and stained emotions towards people and suddenly that changed. Perhaps what you’re doing is the only way to adjust properly, but Master, oh dear Master I do not know and I feel horrible if I have not pleased you. All I live for, all I was made for by the automaton maker was to serve you, I know of little else, I feel…I feel…I don’t know what I feel. I don’t know if I even feel emotion.” My eyes were downcast, looking at the rain and my reflection in it. My clothes were sodden from the rain, my hat was slowly getting my hair wet and my head throbbing, one hand hanging limply at my side while the other held the umbrella as unshakably as a statue. Ah, I was dreadfully nervous as he stayed silent. All I had wanted was to simply and curtly answer a question, yet I had failed and expressed everything before my Master. I could imagine the Raven in my mind, scoffing at me, a _tsk_ noise leaving his lips pulled up into a grin as he was proven right of my uselessness. It hurt to imagine that, it hurt more than anything else I could have thought of. However, Master’s reaction was not as intended. Rather than scold me, he put his hand on my shoulder, and I looked up. I still avoided his glance, but I saw he was smiling at me. I’d made him smile?

“ I-It’s alright, Drossel.” He smiled a little more. “ In all of this time, I haven’t met someone just as confused about what’s going on as I am. I haven’t met someone who said they were confused and that they didn’t know what was going on with them. They’ve always given me answers because they think they know but I know they’re just not true. I’ve waited for someone to be just as confused.” He looked around, “ and you’re so honest about it…you really do understand.”

“ At least we both understand something.” I said, “ This is a world that riles madness instead of appeasing it.”

“ I think that we really aren’t meant to understand, I see that now. I’m not alone….Ciel and I, loneliness brought us together. We adapted and fit each other and still are in the beginning process of doing so. However, besides him, I thought I was alone. But I’m not alone.” He turned around and kept walking, and I followed him. I had a feeling, the ever so slight feeling that I would be serving my Master more than the Raven for a good long while.

        We walked for a very long while more, so much we had surpassed the city limits and we were now walking on a cobblestone pathway in fields of Underworld, fields full of native plants and trees. “ Do you wish to turn back, Master?” I asked, “ It shall be well past 10 when we get back, and Lord Phantomhive must be worried about you.”

“ I know he will be worried about me.” Master said, “ I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it and no, before you ask, we did not have a falling out, and I don’t know why I’m still walking. I just, want too and I don’t know why.”

“ Perhaps someone cursed you?” I thought, remembering his lack of acknowledgment to the people in the town. Master shook his head, looking up at the umbrella.

“ Uh, I think it stopped raining, Drossel.” I looked up at the stalactites, and no drops of rain fell on my face. In fact, there were no stalactites. Just clouds, a gray over cast.

“ Looks like someone got back to doing their job of doing the sky.” Master noted, and I nodded.

“ Perhaps they did that on purpose.” I said, “ To establish a type of normalcy perhaps? It does not rain here, and it does in the mortal world. Perhaps no matter how much people like it down here they miss the world and seasons above them.”

“ True, maybe people pretend to like it here.” Master turned into the meadow and sat. I walked in and stood next to him, and he gestured me to sit, so I did. “ I could just start running, Drossel, running mindlessly to no idea where, and you’d follow me, correct?”

“ Yes sir, I have no one else to follow.” I said, and he nodded.

“ It’s very tempting just to run off for a while.” Master said, “ But I’d worry Ciel, and I wouldn’t want to do that now. But still, the offer is ever so tempting.”

“ You’d have no clothes for the next day,” I said, “ and you’d be tired.”

“ Well, I could have you buy clothes for me while I crashed in some cheap hotel.” Master said, “ It’s very tempting to just keep walking, isn’t it?”

“ Yes,” I admitted, “ it is.”

“ I wonder if that’s how a lot of demons and monsters spend their lives. Unsure of what to do, however they’re free so they just keep walking.” Master said, “With my hair, these clothes, and you no one will recognize me as I walk through towns and cities. And even if they do, I have you beside me. Everyone will suspect Sebastian to be with me or Ciel, and they’ll think otherwise if you’re here because no one knows you, Drossel.”

“ Indeed,” I said thinking to myself Master really does sound like he wants to pursue this. If he did, I’d follow him blindly and follow his orders as he said. “ You know what, Drossel, let’s do it.” Master said, getting up and continuing down the path. I delayed for a few seconds, wondering if the proper thing to do would be to dissuade him, saying ‘surely Lord Phantomhive will worry tons!’ or ‘this idea is utterly preposterous; you can’t possibly be serious’ then he turned to me. “ Are you coming?” He asked, and I got up, following him.

“ Yes, Master. What kind of a servant would I be to refuse you?”

           So we continued on our walk, which was now a journey to an unknown destination. Master seemed happy to be doing so, and I recalled the myths and legends of gods and goddesses traveling in disguise to unsuspecting mortals and expecting the best behavior from them. I knew Master would be different, and that he would depend on me to make all of the arrangements on this trip. In a way, I felt validation. The Raven usually did such things and made me do other assorted menial tasks that had no meaning, and now I was in his place, left to do anything I wished. We walked and walked, and in that time Master seemed rather talkative, which was rather shocking because he normally was not talkative at all. He told me of his two sisters that I had never met, of Lord Phantomhive and his feelings for him, of his previous feelings towards assorted demigods whom were so numerous that most of their names I tried to keep straight, like Dakota is the cool-aid loving one, Percy is the one everyone talks about, Annabeth is the wise one, Reyna is the fierce and fiery leader, Leo is the pun-maker supreme. In all of this conversation, no matter how sad and lower tones it fell into, made me feel like I was my Master’s friend or becoming so. A good servant is always their Master’s most faithful companion on ventures. I felt a bit of validation in it as he divulged me in tales of the wayward children of the gods and goddesses. After a tale of Percy and Annabeth, he stopped in amidst the tale and amidst the road, which he walked in and out of. “ He’s probably worrying about me.”

“ Who?”

“ Ciel, of course.”

“ Yes, of course he is, Master. You said so yourself before.”

“ He’ll be upset regardless of when I get back.” Master said, continuing to walk. “ Hey, he always talks about moving forward, and I am. He’ll just have to himself to catch up with me.”

“ I think he meant only in the figurative sense, Master.”

“ I know he does, Drossel.” Master said, “ We’ll stay in a motel a few towns away.” I nodded, noting that’s we’d passed through several already and no one acknowledged him. He seemed happier that way. Four towns after that, Master Nico sat outside of a bench and pointed to an inn in the front of us. “ That one.” He said, yawning.

“ Yes, sir.” I said and he handed me a credit card.

      The woman at the desk was a skeletal woman with each bone accented by her gray wrinkly skin, her silvery hair tied into a bun on the back of her head, and a loose fitting pink dress that looked so large on her it could have been a robe. She looked up at me with red fiery eyes through gold framed glasses. Percy Jackson would have described her as “someone’s demonic grandmother,” and I nearly snickered at the thought. “ How many rooms do you need?” She said in a raspy voice that someone would have associated with a smoker.

“ 2, preferably adjoining.” I said, “ I do not know for how long.”

“ Well, I could have you pay for one night and have to pay for however long you intend to be staying daily.” She said, and I nodded.

“ That sounds good.” I said, “ How much is it?”

“ 205 pounds a night, but I can assure you the rooms are pristine. It’s also late, and I’d hate to see you out in the cold damp so late in the night.” The woman said as I surveyed the room. It was rather pristine, so the woman let me swipe the card, and she smiled, giving me the keys to room 405, and I went outside to Master.

           “ The room has been acquired.” I said, only to notice that he was asleep. Sighing and a bit embarrassed to do so, I picked him up and brought him through the lobby and up into the elevator. When the elevator doors opened to the appropriate floor, it made a small _bing_ noise and woke Master up. I immediately put him down, and he walked out of the elevator. “ I-uh, I’m sorry.”

“ It’s okay, I was asleep and you didn’t want to wake me up.” Master said, “ Sebastian would have done the same thing.” I did not wish to be like the Raven, I never even envied his ways and persona. Of course, Master did not know this. “ What room, Drossel?”

“ 405.” I said, and he nodded, going to it. I opened the door for him and he quickly got under the covers, falling asleep. I closed and locked the door ever so carefully, then wondered what to do next. I could retire and sleep myself, however, right before I opened my door with the same lock (406 which was on the left of Master’s) I realized he needed a fresh set of clothes for the next day.

        Nothing in the thrift shop would have fit my Master’s tastes, and the local store did not do better. I thought to myself, why not go back to the mansion and get some clothes? Surely I could sneak past the unwavering eyes of the Raven. So, I took a taxi back to the city. By then, an hour had passed, and I had a feeling that Master had not yet awoken. I went through the streets cautiously, because if a Phantomhive servant was indeed searching for Master, I would be asked. None of them trusted me, or so I got the feeling behind their smiles. I thought to myself of how nervous I was, the rush was immense as I crept through the streets and then along the gates of the manor. I went in through the woods behind the manor, gently opening a window in the servants quarters and slipping inside ever so silently, ever so carefully so that Raven would surely not hear my entrance. What had became home suddenly felt unpleasant, suddenly giving me a rush as though I was an invader. I had successfully broken into the manor. I heard the Raven’s hushed footsteps due to my enhanced hearing ability and quickly hid. I heard him enter the room and near the closet where I hid by walking my feet back up to the wall in a spider like position. The Raven opened the door and my heart pounded so fiercely that I could have sworn he’d have heard it. He surveyed the dark closet, then closed the door. He had not seen me. I had outsmarted the Raven. Now, your mind must be thinking, why on earth would he go to such eccentrics merely to get an outfit for his Master and not explain to Lord Phantomhive? Because, that would not be what Master wanted. He wanted to go on a venture without Lord Phantomhive knowing, and it would stay that way. My feet ran ever so swiftly and quietly up the stairs and into his room, grabbing three days worth of outfits because if he stayed for two days or so it wouldn’t be worth me taking such risks again. I heard the Raven coming up the hallway. I opened the window, took a long breath, and jumped out of it. I landed effortlessly and painlessly on my feet. It was odd, one day when I accidentally cut myself with a knife while cutting potatoes and it was not until Bardroy noticed that I found out I was bleeding. I could not feel pain.

         When I finally got back to the hotel, Master was still sleeping, so I laid the clothes on his wardrobe and went into my own room. I looked around it, seeing if any demon had followed me, which they hadn’t. Then I began to think to myself again, growing more and more tired before finally being able to sleep. And I fell asleep, wondering what time the next morning Master would wake up. My dream was vivid. I was standing amidst a strawberry field where I could hear faint and melodic musical tones. I quickly left the field and walked about this place that I was in. I had never seen it before, and many of the buildings were intricate and had pillars around them. There was a campfire in the middle of them with a girl sitting around the campfire, and she waved to me. I did not know whether it would be alright to wave back or not, though I did so anyways. I went and sat with the girl. “ Hello Drossel.” She said, somehow knowing my name. “ How do you know me?”

“ Well, I know much about your home, so I know much about you. I am Hestia, goddess of the hearth.” She smiled, “ many of the Earls find the time to talk with me as do their servants, however I believe that is because they are nervous because of the demigods.”

“ Do you know about my first life?” I asked her, and she shook her head.

“ I can only see what you presently call home. A large mansion with servants, one of them which you seem to dislike, but it is still home to you. A room in an underground way of servants’ quarters filled with dolls, a boy. Nico di Angelo, your Master, the only thing you feel is certain in your mind full of muddled thoughts. I already know of the grand illusion that you demons and monsters put on for him. I know of many things that the gods and goddesses swear not to tell anyone, even each other, and that secret is one of the many I tell no one. He’s been quite brought up here, but it’s calming especially with the proposal of Percy and Annabeth even though the wedding will not occur for 4, 6 years. Very few people truly cared that he is ‘dead,’ which can only be assumed after his mysterious disappearance before the battle with the monsters in the camps. You people have put extreme effort in keeping him dead, and that is how it shall stay. However, both you and I know that Nico is indeed alive and well under the care of the Earl and his servants as a vampire, never to be seen again by the demigods. I have a feeling that the only time he will see them is when one dies if even that. You will be beside him the way you will be for a long time.”

“ That is quite an honor, Lady Hestia.” I said, “ the Earl?”

“ Yes, what about him?” Hestia said, “ they’re relationship grow and will last far beyond those of mortals, which is eternity. This was Nico’s fate all along, Drossel, it’s just no one knew that it would be. Technically, Nico di Angelo no longer has a fate. He died as soon as he became a vampire, and now his life is in his own hands. When this happens, people always need reassurance of the position that they are in. And that was the true answer to that question, the one which you did not know. You have a fate, Drossel, and that ties in with Nico di Angelo even though you are immortal. You are merely confused because your string of fate has been cut, sewed together again with no end, then sewed together without an end once more. The strings of fate and cinematic records go hand in hand, when you chop one you also chop the other, and when you put one together, you put the other together.”

“ So, why don’t I remember when I was alive originally?”

“ Perhaps you simply weren’t meant to or the angel erased your memories.”

“ I am confused.”

“ You will be.” The girl smiled warmly and looked off in the distance to the long forgotten Hades cabin. “ Nico never quite felt like he belonged here, and he has found his place in the Underworld…like I said, he just needs time.”

“ Yes ma’am.” I said, then I woke up.

      The room was quiet when I sat up in my bed, looking about the room. It was still rather late. I turned on the TV, thinking to myself that I had never watched TV. I found nothing that caught my interest, so I listened to a dull and boring show, falling into a dreamless sleep and waking up at an adequate time.

      I decided it was time to wake up Master, so I crossed from my room into his where he was still sleeping and had not moved a muscle from where he had fallen asleep. I wondered for a moment how to go about waking him up. I could take the blankets off him, I thought to myself, but that’s rude. I could tap his shoulder but I wouldn’t wish to shock him if he’s having a nightmare. Was he? He didn’t seem to be. That approach was suitable. Gently, I tapped his shoulder. His eyes opened, and he rubbed them and yawned. “ Good morning, Drossel.” He said, looking at the table where I’d set the clothes. “ Thanks,” he said, nodding to me and I left the room. Then it hit me, I had not prepared breakfast nor had the supplies too. In embarrassment, I wondered what to tell Master when he came into the room. “ Do they have breakfast served here?” Master asked, and I shrugged. “ Well, we’ll go get one.”

“ I-I’m terribly sorry.”

“ No, it’s alright. After all, it must have taken you an awful lot of effort to break into the mansion and get my clothes.” He smiled, “you really are quite devoted.”


	21. The State of Not Knowing Why-Part II

***

        As the episode came to a pause and went to commercial break, I looked to Delilah. “Delilah, were you always a demon?” I asked, her, and she shook her head.

“Why are you asking?” She said, narrowing her glance.

“I was just, I don’t know. How long have you been a demon?”

“ Two years,” she said. She didn’t seem like she’d only been a demon for two years.

“Have you ever had a moment when you were unsure of why you were made a demon, of what your purpose in this world was?”

She sighed, “can I go one day without having to try to answer these deep ass questions?!”

“No, I mean-” I sighed, “But have you?”

“Yeah I guess we all do.” Delilah said, “But how long have you been a vampire?”

“Longer than you’ve been a demon.” I answered, “And I still don’t know my purpose. I was wondering if you found yours.”

“ No one really knows his or her purpose until everything is over. I usually don’t think about that shit, I just do stuff because I feel like it and whatever happens, well, I don’t consider it fate or anything like that. I just know it happened, it’s over, and it may or may not mean something in the future. You do things because you do things and whether they mean something or not other people’s actions don’t determine you. Commercial break is over. Shut up.” I waited patiently for the next commercial break to give her my response.

“I don’t know. I think that Kira was supposed to be my end.”

“ Well, that shit went down and now you’re a vampire, and, you’re okay I guess. You let me watch ‘Steven Universe’ on your computers and I can talk about it with you, you never question me about the Stupid Baker Boy and the bread.” She shrugged, “sometimes you make sense, and sometimes you don’t. What’s with you and purposes? Nothing really needs a concept of purpose, if you just do stuff, you have a purpose even if you don’t know how those events are connected or what the heck your purpose is supposed to be.”

“ You know, Delilah, you can be pretty deep when you want to be.”

“ Well, you wanted a deep answer to your deep question didn’t you?”

“ Yeah, I guess.” She sighed, and the commercial break ended. Delilah watched some repeats before Erik knocked on the door and opened it. “It’s time we get going.” He said, holding her crossbow. Delilah smiled, ran out of the chair, got on her coat, took her crossbow and began walking. I sighed once they’d left, got up from my chair, and closed the door.

       It opened almost instantly, and there was Madame Giry. “Hello L.” She said, sitting in the chair Delilah had sat in.

“ Hello Madame.” I said, “ And why did you come up here today?”

“ I don’t know, I think you need someone to talk too. I noticed you haven’t been eating many of your sweets and you seem a bit sad.” Madame Giry shrugged, “ I don’t know, perhaps it is because of Meg I was so concerned about you.”

“ Meg Giry…you’re daughter?” I said, “ It seems people caring about me in a parental way has grown shockingly.”

“ I know you’re upset about Erik, and that doesn’t help considering your past.” Madame Giry said, “ I wonder why Hades would put his son in such a situation, but who really knows the thoughts of one who is omnipotent?”

“ Actually, it’s easier than you think.” I said, “ Because I remember how Kira thought, it’s easier to rule out how Hades thinks.”

“ They call you a prodigy for reasons I suppose.” Madame Giry shrugged and swung her braid over her shoulder. “ Perhaps you need to get out of the house more, see the people. After all, you are the closest to a king of this area.”

“ Yes, but the French put their king and queen under the guillotine as I remember history.”

“ I meant an honorary king, L. I don’t think people are going to chop off your head,” Madame Giry gave a small laugh.

“ I’m not taking any chances.” I said, of course lying. I wasn’t afraid of death or the French demons and monsters outside, I just didn’t want to go outside in general, so I had to tell her something.

Madame Giry sighed, “ If a purpose and reason is what you are trying to find, I do not believe that sitting here all day isn't going to help you. For what are you going to find inside of these walls?”

“ I don’t know what I’d do and where I’d go once I was outside them anyways. Wandering around won’t exactly help me either.”

“ Many wanderers find their purpose along the way.”

“ What if I don’t have one?” I looked at the screen, “ what if my purpose is this? It’s so boring.”

“ Then defy your fate.”

“ I don’t have a fate, my fate was to be killed by Kira, who turned out to be the one person I held closest, and even though I knew it was them, I couldn’t bring myself to admit it. It was a fatal attraction, and I died with a sense of completion. Then suddenly and because some random vampire thought it would be amusing, they brought me back. They were killed by a slayer 2 weeks later, and I tried to do cases again, and I did such menial cases.” I sighed, “ They never even told me a logical reason for bringing me back.”

“ How did they find you?” Madame Giry seemed intrigued by my story. And suddenly, it all came back to me. The vampire’s pale and gaunt smiling face leaning over me in the coffin, the night sky, the flashes and screams, the thinking that I was no better than Kira, the pain of knowing I failed and that Near and Mello would follow my path, blood, the cold feel of the night prickling against my skin on the vampire’s porch as I sat pondering the meaning of my life and he tells me “L you should come inside, come, I have some blood” yet that sickened me so I walked down the road. The rocks of the road rubbed against my bare feet, the moon shone over the trees...there were so many stars. On the road, a beaten red car passes me and even though the only house down that way is the vampire’s, I don’t question it or turn back. I hated the way I was. I look up to the stars. Oh Light-kun, I wish you were there to look at them with me. The stars…I haven’t seen that many stars since I was young and my Mother would bring me camping and let me stay up with her until dawn…what would she think of me? I kept walking until I found out walking was pointless so I turned back. On my way back, the red car passed me yet again. When I opened the door, the vampire named Eliot, the vampire who had bit me, was dead. I gently took the wallet from Eliot’s pocket, and went out of the house again, walking and walking...

“ L?” Madame Giry asked, snapping me out of my thought.

“ Yes?”

“ How and why did they make you a vampire?”

“ His name was Eliot,” I said quietly.

“ The vampire?”

“ Yes, his name was Eliot. He told me he was bored, so he took a trip and decided to make himself a more permanent way to prevent boredom, which was by teaching and bringing another vampire into the world. From what he told me, he didn’t even know who I was. He just saw a newly dug grave, dug it up, decided I looked interesting and made me a vampire. There was no reason really, not like Dante and Nico, no. They had a reason for being made vampires, and I will never. I was just a cure to some vampire’s boredom, a vampire who was killed a week and a half after he got home from his vacation. Was that my purposes, Madame Giry? Did I waste two purposes and so I was given up on and no longer have any purposes to waste?”

“ I think you need a hug.”

“ Thank you.” She gave me a hug, and got up, leaving.

          Erik came back at 12 AM. I never slept, so he knew I was awake when he came back. He sat in the chair Madame Giry had, and relaxed into it. He was tired, and didn’t speak for a few moments. “ So,” he said seeming to remember why he came and getting his parental lecturing voice on. “ Madame Giry was telling me about what you said. She seems troubled by it.”

“ She just wants me to cheer up.” I said, and he nodded.

“ I have to say I agree with her.” Erik said, “ She was always a maternal woman. She treats me like her son, she treats you like her son, and she treats Delilah like she treated Meg-”

“ What happened to Meg Giry? I can assume she’s not a vampire.” He stayed silent as though he didn't want to talk about it, and I could respect that. “ Why did you make Madame Giry a vampire?” I said, and Erik’s eyes focused on the screen.

“ No one wants their parents to die L. Madame Giry is like my Mother…I didn’t want her to die, also, she was a good go-between between myself and the opera managers, so I figured if I was ever in such a situation again.” Erik shrugged and now seemed to lose his parental lecturing voice, “ however, I do not believe that that will occur.”

“ So, the timeline is like this.” I said, “ you claim yourself to be dead and or you died, you’re made a vampire who was the former 5th Earl, the 5th Earl dies, you make Madame Giry a vampire, is that right?”

“ Yes,” Erik said, “ you don’t know anything of my life after that?”

“ No, I can conclude some things. You met were probably figuring you were going to die a few years ago, so you put in for a demon apprentice to fill the fifth Earl position once you died, which you figured would be soon. You met Delilah, who became like a daughter and an apprentice. What made you think you were going to die?”

“ 1,000 slayers a night roughly. It was that I figured I was going to die and I needed help slaying.”

“ Delilah….what was she like?”

“ Not very different from how she is now.” Erik chuckled, “ she doesn’t change much.”

“ I can imagine that she wouldn’t.” I said, “ She seems firm in what she says.” I looked at the screens to see where she was in the house. She was sleeping on the couch in the living room which Madame Giry went down into to get to the servants’ quarters, and when she saw Delilah, she chuckled and put a crocheted blanket on her, then went down into the stairway that lead to the servants’ quarters, closing the door behind her.

“ Ironic, isn’t it L, that once Delilah night they brought Delilah to introduce her to me, the amount of slayers I had to slay went down to 20?” He chuckled, “ she’s not used to slaying over 50 a night usually, but these are odd times. The number skyrockets and then plummets, and I don’t know-” he stopped himself. “ That’s right, that is the reason why you’re sad. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“ It’s alright,” I said, “ it’s a major part of your life as an Earl and everyone knows that. Every counsel you get with someone involves slayers and what they did, slayers still on the loose, and that’s fuel for the nightly slaying of the slayers. You never admit it, but without the counsels in the day, I don’t think you could carry on for very long.”

“ And you’d be right. I see how much they ravage the people…the life of a slayer isn’t necessarily perfect, you know. They usually must hide their works even when it’s most inconvenient, it comes to haunt them at time even more inconvenient, many people they love die, they are constantly attacked, it all wears on their sanity. If a slayer started out as a child raised by parents who were slayers, the child sees the ravages of the constant war of their parents on the monsters, then soon gets sucked down into their ‘noble cause’ themselves. Most of the time it’s by force, and it causes them to lose their sanity. Because they hide their slayings so well, to the average human the slayer seems entirely normal. But at night, when they kill the demons and monsters, the horribly insane and animalistic side appears and if that average human in the day ever saw them at night, chances are they wouldn’t recognize them.”

“ So, it creates two personalities,” I said. “ But some aren’t raised by slaying parents?”

“ No, many aren’t. Many take it up after something happened in their lives which strongly influenced them. Many take it up as a hobby and end up finding it’s more of a drug, they can’t stop, and they need to do it, if they don’t something feels horrible and wrong. Some try to quit, they say they will, but they never do because of how addictive it is to them. If they’re forced to stop, it’s very hard to, and usually doesn’t last for long. Partially it’s also the monsters fault. The Earls try to keep vindictive monsters from seeking their revenge, but most of the time they go in for the kill, which means even if they slayer wants to stop-”

“ They have to fight to stay alive.” I said, “ I can imagine their lives are short.”

“ No, some are very good and sneaky about what they do and don’t die for a very, very long time.” Erik said, “ Don’t even get me started on the Slayer’s Council or their ‘family businesses.’”

“ As much as I hate it, I have to say it’s interesting how you think.” I said, “ You see it from a monster’s perspective, but an insightful one.”

He laughed, “ Yes, much like the elder slayers who grew feeble and weak, my prey will become my undoing. If a slayer dies by natural causes, I’ll be the first one to tell you that’s bullshit. Perhaps the people like to believe that is how they died, but in reality, monsters are sneaky, especially those who eat souls like Ciel and Alois. In fact, it’s usually they who end the slayers, for their souls are well seasoned. Once I found a nursing home full of elder slayers that had all been oddly placed on my list, so I sent Alois, Ciel, Luka, and their servants in for meals. In the paper, they wrote it as a mysterious disease and had the nursing homes checked for many months, even though the morticians ruled out they’d died in their sleep. I overlooked Alois eating one of their souls for my own curiosity, and he closed the person’s eyes at the end. Demons and monsters don’t have fingerprints but other distinct marks that only monsters and demons can find.” He paused, “ He doesn’t like open eyes on corpses, I noticed that.”

“ Dante told me about that.” I said, “ he told me that that was because Claude had left his eyes open, and Alois will always close the eyes of the corpses-even if they’re no longer present-because he claims will always care more about the people whose souls he ate more then Claude did. According to Dante, Claude didn’t even have the courtesy to close the eyes of his contract’s recipient and Alois will close the eyes of someone whose soul he barely made an effort in taking.”

“ It makes sense. Sometimes Alois does things merely for the purpose of spiting Claude which is because as a demon he wants to perpetually torment Claude who hurt him so deeply in his human life and briefly in his afterlife. Sebastian does so too, and with having them both constantly doing so, it’s a wonder how he doesn’t snap.”

“ He might,” I said. “ I hope Dante isn’t around when he does.”

“ Dante hardly leaves Alois’s side, you know that.” Erik said, “ Either way, I think if he did have serious and active intent on murdering Alois, Dante would be quick to kill him. He’s a powerful little mind controller, he can take anyone down except one with mental powers. It’s rather simple to kill someone with your powers, however, a large majority can’t do that, myself being one of them in said majority even though I used to be able to a few years ago. Even so, having those powers makes him all the more dangerous.”

“ I can’t seriously be scared of my younger brother.” I said honestly, “ not that he would hurt me anyways. It kind of seems surreal that he’s the one you’re referring too when you say that…just like when I heard Mello and Matt were dead.”

“ You should bring them back, you know, if you’re really this lonely.” Erik said, “ I wouldn’t mind, the house is big enough.”

“ Don’t make is so tempting, Erik.”

“ Erik doesn’t mind that it is.” I was surprised he stayed out of third person for that long. “ I know you don’t mind but it’s just so, so tempting.”

“ L, let’s review the facts. You are lonely, you do not do cases perhaps due to lack of motivation…” he paused, “ you haven’t been eating your usual amount of sweets, you have low esteem in being a vampire and son of Hades, you constantly question your purpose, must Erik go on?”

“ I-I….let’s go.”

“ Ah, good boy.” Erik got up, and I followed him, putting my jacket on. I was actually going to do this? Had I really sunk that low? “ Now, we’ll need to find their ashes, and it will take them a while, perhaps a day or two to reform.”

“ I know where their bodies are.” I said solemnly, “ there’s a small cemetery behind Wammy’s House that’s for it’s private use. Anyone associated with it was buried there unless they're in another country.” Erik nodded, a glint in his eyes. Why did he want me to do this so badly? He thought it would make me feel better, and he wanted me to feel better. He cared about me, and he wanted me to feel better. This was the only way he could think of and the easiest in his mind. He glanced into the living room for a moment, and saw Delilah was still sleeping. He shrugged, and we left. The carriage wasn’t usually that empty; usually Delilah would be there as would Madame Giry, sometimes one of them and sometimes the both of them. I noted that it would not be so empty back in the carriage with Mello and Matt, and tried not to think about it. I did not know why, but my feelings were a mix of sheer elation and self-disgust, and I wondered about them for a few moments before dismissing them completely as the carriage began to shadow-travel and turn into a car. 

         I had missed the human world. From outside the car window, I could see the preparations for New Years. I hadn't even noticed that Christmas had passed, yet looking at a a store sign, it was the 31st of December. The snow on the ground would make it all the harder to dig up the graves. The night would last for a few more hours, which made me wonder just how long it would take Mello and Matt to become vampires. 

       I hopped over the gates with Erik, and we trudged through the untouched snow with a shovel which Erik had oddly acquired a few seconds, before it was dragging behind him. Through the graves we wandered until we arrived 2 plots in the back. There they were. I slowly wiped the snow off of the graves to reveal the names of Mihael Keehl and Mail Jeevas. I stepped away, taking a large breath of the cold winter air and standing in between the graves as Erik began to take the first shovel full of snow and dirt. 


	22. The State of Not Knowing Why-End Part

***

       I get up in the morning, fix my hair, and get on my usual dress. I walk out of the servant’s quarters into the cold morning, retrieving the mail left on the stone steps of the porch. Then I walked back inside, the Triplets awaiting me in the corridor. “Timber, today you trim the rose bushes and hedges by the gate, for they are soon weed themselves around it if we don‘t cut them soon. Canterbury, clean the windows on the third floor and vacuum it as well. Thompson, you dust the shelves on the fourth and seventh floor. Make sure there are no cobwebs.” With a tired “yes ma’am” from each of the Triplets, they went to do their assigned chores.

      I walked up the stairs to the 4th floor to wake Master Macken up the earliest, and with a large smile on his face, “ Good morning, Hannah. Thank you for waking me up. " I bow politely and he runs off to wake up Dante and Alois. I go downstairs to see if Claude had finished making breakfast. He was, and I took the tray from him and went into the dining hall, where Dante, Luka, and Alois were sitting. I poured them their tea and gave them their breakfast. “Thank you, Hannah.” Dante said, “Any news this morning?”

“Yes sir.” I said, pulling out the letters from the pocket of my dress as well as handing him the letter-opener. He opens each with care and read them. I poured Luka some more tea.

“Oh well, that’s interesting.” Dante said, “It’s a relay of events over the year, and the demigods get 3 paragraphs.”

“Usually you only get one.” Alois noted, smiling. I knew that when Dante read the paragraphs, he’d find that one was for him, and see that all of the demons, humans and monsters who had attacked him would soon be tried for treason and sentenced in accordance to their actions and his judgment. When he read this, Dante smiled. “I will get to kill every last one of them.” Dante said, “Finally.”

“Happy birthday, Dante.” Alois said, “I know it was over 5 months ago in March and you were still homeless then, but I think you deserve a present to make up for it.”

“Thank you,” Dante said. “You always figure out how to do the nicest things for me. When do the trials begin?”

“ Today, right after breakfast.”

      The cold whipped around in the wind at the sides of my jacket and skirt as we began to enter the Judgment Hall. Dante ran into it, and Alois trailed slowly behind, smiling. I looked at the monsters standing in a queue with their chains, waiting to be tried. I wondered why they would all work so hard and desperately to ruin one innocent child just because of his parentage. I pitied Dante when I saw how many things had tortured him; some of the beings in the line were human. I did not pity them at all. I sat quietly in a wooden chair between the judge’s podium and the jury. The three main judges on the panel were replaced with Dante and Alois, and the jury was that of Earls. Usually only demons that wanted to come to be in the jury came, and Earls usually didn’t come, being preoccupied with other jobs and civil positions. I could tell by their merciless glances upon the queue that they shared the same view as I. No mercy. Alois smiled, clapping his hands together and speaking into the microphone before him. “If you have not attacked him, you have nothing to fear. If he does not remember you, well, you should be so lucky.” Alois’s gleeful smile did not fit the morose feeling of the queue, which looked at him with fear. “And if he does remember you, well then, all the more reason you should be afraid. Finally, you will get back what fear you wrought on him. Never torture a son of Hades will be your lesson or your final one, as all executions take place today. Let the trails begin!” He smacked his gavel to the table, and I could tell he was going to have a lot of fun doing that.

       The trials were odd; humans who knew nothing of the subject would have called them unfair. “Guilty,” Dante would say, “death by guillotine.” Sometimes it wasn’t the guillotine, sometimes it was an extensive time in prison or a more horrible death. Whatever he would say, Alois would agree with, as would the jury. However, Alois seemed quite happy with damning them all as he would see the punishments being carried out. There was no opposition to what he said, even though some of the punishments were “run around the world 180 times then be hung” and “being pushed off of a cliff onto a ring of cacti and then be stuffed into a box.” Depending on the crime or randomly, Dante would hand over a case to Alois, who usually gave more cruel punishments. Sometimes Dante would give one or two halves of the sentence and Alois would give the rest. The jury did not oppose, no one opposed the Earls because that would be treason and they would die a worse death than those Alois and Dante were doling.

      The trails took the longest, then Dante ran out the courtyard where the executions were taking place. Alois smiled just as voraciously as Dante, and they held hands as the walked around watching the outlandish and cruel executions that were given by the jury. “ You know, Alois, I never thought this day would come.” Dante said, and Alois shrugged.

“ You’ve won favor with the Earls and citizens. They all adore you as a public figure, you’re usually more popular than your brothers are. You actually enjoy the attention and give it back.” Alois waved as coaches came. Many demons and monsters had gathered around the courtyard, cheering at the display. Monsters and demons loved chaos and destruction, no one cared about the monsters that died. In reality, no one cared about any monster when they died, all they wanted was destruction and death. They loved the display that Dante was putting on, and Dante himself loved it. Alois and he began to waltz amidst the destruction, Dante in the lead and sometimes Alois. The crescendo of cheering from the crowd would have broken the eardrums of any mortal, which it had, considering tortured looks on the mortals’ faces. I watched with unamusement, however, I smiled when my Master glanced over at me. If I didn’t, I don’t know what would have occurred.

       It was over by dinner, at which time Claude arrived with the carriage. The crowd made way and began to disperse seeing how everything was over. I opened the door for my Masters, which got into the carriage. When I got in myself, I closed the door. “ Did you enjoy the slaughter, Hannah?” Alois asked me, smiling. He was covered in blood from dancing in it as was Dante, who had drank some of the blood, primarily from the people who he had ordered impaled. His face was covered in blood, as were his boots and suit. Alois had gotten most of the blood on him from kissing Dante, drinking a bit of it himself (for demons, blood was rather nutritious) and leaning up against him. Either way, I would be cleaning a lot later. The trio would clean the carriage from the blood that dripped inside of it, which proved an ample task; however, if they finished that early I would have them help me with the shoes and clothes.

“ Yes,” I lied to my Master. I had become better at lying to him on certain things, and hoped that the lie wouldn’t be transient as then he would get angry. His anger bit like a viper and was twice as caustic and harmful. Like around a viper, one had to be cautious and vigilant. No matter how much I loved him, I knew that he was a lot to fear if he was angered.

“ Good.” Alois smiled, “ when we get home, could you draw a bath for me?”

“ Yes Master.” I said, “ Would you like one as well, Master?”

“ Yes.” Dante said, “ Then we’ll have dinner.”

      After drawing water for the two baths, I went to the Trio and assigned them their task. “ They weren’t smart monsters,” Timber said.

“ No, Not at all,” Thompson said.

“ Who the fuck attacks the son of Hades when Hades in the king,” Canterbury exclaimed.

“ He was so young too,” Timber said, “ and isolated.”

“ Easy prey for them,” Thompson agreed, “ perhaps they didn’t know he was the son of Hades.”

“ Who the fuck cares, they’re dead anyways.” Canterbury said, “ And that’s the end of it.”

“ I’m happy their dead.”

“ I wish I could have seen the executions!“

“ We’re so jealous, Miss Hannah.”

“ You’re going to ask us to clean the carriage of blood?”

“ Then help you wash clothes?”

“ And the tubs?”

“ Yes, yes, and yes.” I said, “ They knew nothing of what was going to happen to them as a repercussion of their actions. They should not have committed them in the first place and so heinously. They created a broken boy before a royal monster was ever present, and deep down inside Dante, the broken boy remains shrouded by darkness and lack of a soul. The broken boy got his revenge, and the royal monster surveyed and glorified the fulfillment of the broken boy’s wishes.”

“ Makes sense.”

“ So much blood…”

“ I do feel bad for him. Though in the end,”

“ Both masters’ tormentors died,”

“ And face eternal punishments.”

“ Fulfillment indeed.” All went off to do their chores. I let Claude serve dinner as I went down to the washroom and filled the black cauldron with blazing hot water which Timber had came down to help me with. He and I put the clothes in it and began to rinse them. To a human, the heat of the water would have been torture, but demons were not affected by extreme heat. After rinsing the clothes, the blood was scalded out of them, so we washed them in cold water, and set them to die on a bit of hellfire. From a different section of the Underworld came hellfire, which was from the Hell section of the Underworld. It was unquenchable fire and could be produced by demons at will, however, it destroyed everything and would burn until it reached Hell again, which was how what the humans call “portals to Hell” were created. However, when it was in the Underworld, it could be contained by the rock there, and would dry clothes in 2 seconds. I put the clothes back in the Master’s wardrobes, and went down to the parlor.

    In the parlor, Dante and Alois were cuddled up against each other, sleeping. I felt someone nudge my hand and turned to Luka, who held my hand. “ What was it like, Hannah?” Luka had his overcoat on, so I knew he wanted to go on a walk. I got my coat on, and we began to walk.

“ Horrible,” I said once we were out of the house, “ though I did not pity the ones being killed at all, Master.”

“ Good, you shouldn’t have pitied them.” Luka said, “ They played with hellfire and got burned. It’s as simple as that.”

“ Indeed,” I said and he smiled softly, gripping my hand a little tighter.

“ They deserved it, was Jim happy?”

“ Yes he was.”

“ Good, even better.” Luka waved at the people on the street like old friends. He didn’t know them, but as an Earl, they waved back to him. “ We’ve all gotten our revenge on people. It’s nice, completing revenge.”

“ Indeed,” I said, “ few people have ever been foolish enough to try to hurt me however.”

“ That’s right, you’re an ancient demon, as old as Sebastian and Claude?”

“ Yes, in fact older.”

“ And yet you’re still so kind.” Luka looked up at the sky. “ I wonder how L is.”

“ Why would you bring him up, Master?”

“ L is the farthest away from Nico and Dante in both a physical and mental sense. I hope he’s happy, wherever he is.” Luka smiled, “ Dante was talking about visiting him for his birthday, however, he didn’t know when it was, so they didn’t bother.” I thought about L; whichever servant passed by would be the one he asked for sweets. I had talked to him only a rough number of 3 to 4 times, yet what Luka said was true. He was distant, barely leaving his room, yet you could tell he had a strong brotherly love for his younger brothers, similar to the brotherly love of Luka and Alois. It was hard for young monsters to see, but a demon as jaded as I could tell. That is why he quit cases after Dante and Nico asked to solve them with him and he agreed. He did not want either of them to get hurt or go missing, yet he did not want to say no to them. It wasn’t a large part of his life anymore so it was easy for him to give up. He would have been a delicious soul to have as a human, which is why I wondered how no monsters or demons ever came after L. I supposed Kira was a horrible monster enough for L, one that killed him in life and remained to haunt him in the afterlife as a vampire. I did not know what brought the subject up in Luka’s mind, however, I hardly ever questioned him.

       When we returned home, I was pleased to see that the Trio had cleaned off Alois and Dante’s shoes to the point where they shined slightly. I went back into the parlor to see that Alois and Dante were still sleeping and that when Luka had run off and had joined them, cuddled against Alois’s side. They all seemed happy, which was what I had wished for.

***

          I wandered the hallways in the night, candelabra in my hand. Something was amiss; I heard muffled screaming coming from Master Dante’s room. I ran into it to see his head was down in the pillows screaming. I shook his shoulder, and he punched me across the face before I could calculate. “ DAMN.” He yelled, then he calmed. He did not apologize, and I did not expect him too. He was crying.

“ What is it, Master?” I asked him, and he shook his head.

“ Go get Alois.” He said in a low growl, curling up in a ball on the bed. I quickly went to my Master’s room, walking in quietly and shaking his shoulder.

“ What is it?” He growled, sitting up.

“ Master Dante wishes to see you, it seems as though he had a nightmare.”

“ Say no more.” He ran past me, and I continued to walk the corridors of the mansion.

***

    Luka was there before me hugging him, and I came in, sitting on the other side of the bed. “ What happened?” I asked him, and he snickered.

“ Where do I begin?” He said, “ Demigods….I’ve been having dreams about them for a month now. Lately…lately, I’ve dreamed about Tartarus, of Percy and Annabeth’s encounters there, of Nico’s encounters there. Very few times do I dream of something in the present.” He laughed, “ it’s been happening ever since I wiped out Percy Jackson’s memories.”

“ Perhaps you accidentally created an empathy link with him.” I said, “ However, that’s highly unlikely.”

“ I-I don’t know…I feel as though sometimes I’m having the same dream as him and he doesn’t know I’m in it. Maybe…I’m having a dream meant for him, and he’s having a dream that was meant for me. I don’t know…maybe it was bad to mess with demigod minds.” He shivered, and I put a blanket around him.

“ We’re in the Underworld…you’re enemies are dead and no one will get to us.” I said, “ And if anyone comes after us, I’ll kill them!”

“ I know you will.” Dante said, “ Yet I can’t shake the feeling something bad is going to happen to them.”

“ Who cares?” Luka said, “ The less they know, the happier the Earls are about things.”

“ True,” Dante said, “ very true.”

“ Bloody hell Dante, do you actually care about them?”

“ No, Alois, not at all.” I could see right through him.

      The next morning there was no mail and it was raining with the gray overcast still present. Over all, it was a gloomy and dark seeming day. A bit of thunder rustled, and I wondered how that was possible. “ Hannah,” I asked, “ what’s going on?”

“ I don’t believe anything is going on out of the usual.” Hannah said, “ Everything but the weather. This is the Underworld, anything can happen especially when the people who control the weather are mercurial.” I nodded, thinking about all of the things that I did not know and would never know.


	23. The Slayer Council's Decision

***

        “I can’t do this, Erik!” I yelled, and he paused in his digging.

“You tell me this when I’m halfway through the first grave?”

“It just….if they’re happy, I want them to stay that way.” I said, and he sighed.

“Well, I can’t force you to do this.” Erik sighed and the grave was recovered in two seconds. There was a sense of relief and longing to take back what I said as I stared at the graves.

“T-this is the first time I ever saw these graves. There’s something hollowing about it, perhaps it’s because this is sort of a finality.” Erik took a deep breath as if he was calculating what to say.

“You know why I bought Delilah a crossbow?”

“No.”

“She wasn’t good at shooting arrows, and she had been in her human years. It stressed her at first, being a demon. She hated most things about it, don’t let her kid you. She hated me a lot, but I enjoyed her spunk and sarcasm. I saw potential in her, just as I see potential in you. What I’m getting at is that perhaps you’re good at something related to what you did but not exactly what you did. Once I bought Delilah that crossbow, she was as quick as lightening and accurate as hell with it.” Erik smiled, “what’s close to solving crimes?”

“Creating crimes.”

“ _Non, non, non._ Something else.”

“ What is it then?”

“ _Mon Dieu_ boy give me time to think!”

***

         I woke up with a blanket over me. I threw it off and walked. “Mister Erik?” I said in the empty house. No one was around except for Madame Giry, but she was doing some shit that I didn’t know. “L?” Nothing still. I wondered where the hell they went off too before deciding that I didn’t really care. I thought it would be better to reload my crossbow for tomorrow so I wouldn’t always have to stop and risk getting hit. So, I walked. What the fuck was with Erik and the creepy-ass masks he kept around? I thought like the usual as I felt as though their eyes stared at me even though they had **NO FUCKING EYES.** I kind of figured that they were kept around in case someone took his mask off and wouldn’t give it back, but then I noticed that some of the masks wouldn’t do a very good job at that, so I sorted out they were for decoration.

     There was a knock at the door so I grabbed my crossbow. It was probably slayers or a demon or demigod; probably a slayer. I whipped the door open and pointed the crossbow directly at their heart. Sebastian jumped back falling off of the step halfway before levitating himself up. “Why, Miss Delilah that is quite a greeting!”

“Save it.” I lowered my crossbow, “so this means Nico and Ciel are staying with us?”

“No, actually, I’m looking for them.” Sebastian crossed me, walking into the house. I closed the door again, closing all of the goddamn locks which took forever and a day. Sebastian was already down the hall, and I had to catch up to him.

          “Are they missing?” I asked, ready to tell him with the rise of slayers in the Underworld, it was kind of useless looking for them. I wondered if Mister Sebastian already knew that. Probably, considering cases and all that shit that Ciel had to rule out.

Sebastian frowned. “Yes, Master left the mansion last evening to look for Master Nico and did not return to the mansion.”

“Why didn’t you go with him like you do every time?”

“Because he likes to do those sorts of things alone, my lady.” Sebastian said, stopping to fix his hair in a mirror. Sebastian looked tired and sweaty, sighing softly. I glanced at my own reflection, my hair was a little messed up from slaying and sleeping as well as a little wet from the shower I took and one eye remained stupidly pink as the other was a normal demonic red.

“That usually doesn’t stop you from going with him.” I said, noticing that he was leaning a little on the table. “You seem really tired.”

“I am, that is one of the reasons why I made this the last place in France where I looked for my Master.” Sebastian leaned up straight by pushing off of the table a little, but not fully.

“ How long have you been up?”

“ I have been searching tirelessly for about 365 hours, which is roughly 15 days.”

“ Dude don’t you think you should just give up already?! I mean, they might have been killed by slayers. A Earl of the Underworld and a son of Hades, they notice that shit! Also, they notice an easy and important kill such as a tired billion year old demon.”

“ Drossel is with them, Delilah, I don't fear the first part, nor do I fear the second. I could take any slayer at any given moment." 

“ If they have a powerful slayer, it doesn’t make a difference.” Sebastian sighed, “ Where is Madame Giry?”

“ Sleeping, why do you ask?”

Sebastian tripped over onto the table a little when he let it go. I knew he was exhausted, but I would have been too after running 365 hours having to talk to people and walk the distance from England to France, which was a long way when thinking of the Underworld which had no oceans and the people are everywhere in that distance except for a few isolated roads. He might have also gotten roughed up by slayers and other monsters on the way there by the sound of his voice when I mentioned them, so I had to take all of the Underworld facts in account to really get how tired he was. “ I’m sure no one would mind if you crashed here for a while.” I said, and he nodded.

“ I’d hate to impose.”

“ Dude you friggin nearly collapsed! After a night of slayers, quite frankly, I don’t want to have to carry any more bodies around.”

“ I suppose you are right about my needing of a good rest.”

“ You think?” I pointed at his hands and how he was leaning at an angle on the table.

“ Thank you, my lady. Could you show me to the guest rooms?”

“ Sure.” I said, and he followed me up the stairs, falling a few times like a dying pony. When he did, I would poke him with one of Mister Erik’s classy walking canes (which were really long due to the fact he was as tall as a fucking giant and would carry around for no reason but to be fancy,) and he’d get up. Finally, he got to the guest room and collapsed face first on the bed. I walked out, and continued to walk around the house.

***

        The tree was a dead willow tree swaying softly in the wind and in the blank field of ash the trail spiraled on into the distance. “ I do not know how you walked through this cold.” Ciel said as we walked down the hill.

“ Well, you could have had Sebastian get the carriage.” I said, “ I actually like walking though, especially sense no one uses this path.”

“ Indeed, this pathway is too small to fit a carriage. These paths are made for the poor, people who did not invest or grow the money that Hades allotted to them when they were made demons and monsters use these because they cannot afford carriages or other forms of transportation. They do intersect however, and at those crossroads, if one stands they can hear tasks being done above ground such as music being played, and if one wishes to go to it, one may grant the wishes in exchange for souls. This walkway for poor demons and the walkway for more well off demons intersects shortly, perhaps we can get a carriage.” Ciel sighed, “ I did not bring Sebastian because by wearing humble clothes while trying to find you so no one would know I had lost you and interrogate me about it, and demon servants look up to Sebastian. He‘s a figure in their societies, known for his excellence in serving.” I noticed Ciel wasn’t wearing his usual blue diamond and silver ring that symbolized the house of Phantomhive which he never ever took off. I didn’t question him about it, but I figured out why he wasn’t wearing it now.

“ I see, but what will you do when we’re nearing the city again?”

“ I got into the carriage from the back of the house so no one saw my disguise, and Sebastian rode it to a crossroads. I instructed him to leave the carriage there.”

“ And, what if someone stole it?”

“ Snake is guarding it.”

“ He will get people away from it.” I said, knowing Snake, people wouldn’t mess with a kid who’s holding a very venomous snake and telling you to go away. We were still a few 100 miles from where he was though. “ Why aren’t you lecturing me about leaving, Ciel?”

“ Because I did the same to you with visiting Erik in France.” Ciel said, “ I cannot blame you for having an urge to wander off sometimes, it seems to be a habit of yours. I thought you would have wandered off somewhere long ago, and you have not truly wandered as far before, so I’m not concerned about anything.”

“ I see,” I said, remembering that he’d mentioned things about me wandering off before.

“ Especially after things, it’s a primal urge to get away from it all.” Ciel said, “ And now we are returning. The ending has gone according to plan.”

“ Okay,” I said, “ you always plan things out it seems. It kind of reminds me of L.”

“ L is rather strategically inclined.”

“ So are you, Ciel, give yourself some credit. I highly doubt someone else could have perfectly planned how to look like a pauper when they’re a highly regarded citizen of society and get away without people knowing that they left.”

“ Nico, didn’t you say that you walked for only half a day from the city?”

“ Yes, why?”

“ We’ve been walking for three days.”

I looked at the willow tree, noting I hadn’t seen it before. “ Uh, Ciel, I think we’re lost.”

“ Sebastian will find us.” Ciel said, “ no doubt he started to think I was in danger due to the fact that I have not returned and is looking for you, I, and Drossel.” I looked behind us, noticing that Drossel had not made a sound almost the entire way through. I had almost forgotten that he was there.“ No doubt.” I said, “ What country are we walking in or under?”

“ I think we’re under a sea.”

“ What would give you that impression?”

“ The formation of the sky.” Ciel said, “ Usually the overcast over land areas are more dense than the ones over the sea.”

“ Why does it sometimes disappear?”

“ No one knows,” Ciel said, “ Lord Hades usually devises the overcast to cover to stalactites, and when he stops giving the people their orders they simply don‘t do them, which causes the stalactites to be revealed, usually causing rain.”

“ So, my Dad controls basically everything?” I said, and Ciel shook his head.

“ Certain things are not under his control for example hellfire,” Ciel said, “ even though most are. There is two other leaders. Earls of the Underworld serve them as well as Hades, but they order us around less. You merely do not know them or of what they do.”

“ Okay,” I said, “ would you mind telling me?”

“ Not at all.”

***

      “ Hey,” I said as Erik and L came back. “ Uh, what were you two doing?”

“ Sorting things out,” Erik said, tossing his cloak onto the floor. He was really lazy sometimes. I sighed, picking it up and putting it on the coat rack. There, I did work. Madame Giry wouldn’t have to make me do breakfast if I did work. I thought Erik was getting sick of assorted breads anyways.

“ What things?” I asked, remembering that I thought L had a crush on Erik just like I had which I WILL NEVER SPEAK OF AGAIN (anyways I didn't like him anymore in that way.) I wasn’t going to ask any more questions.

“ We were going to being back Matt and Mello, but I decided I didn’t want too.” L said, nodding, trying to remember who they were. Then I remembered L was kind of like a dad/brother (I don’t even know okay) figure to the boys at his orphanage that solved crimes and stuff and because the last crime that lead to his death (I guess) reminded him of how Erik and I killed slayers. The whole connection with things confused me as you can tell even though Erik seemed to get it. All I knew was that he looked at security films from when he was doing the case, and they confused me. Sometimes I would sit with him because he seemed lonely and Madame Giry wouldn’t bother me if I was sitting with L, watching stuff on the computers. Mostly I did it so Madame Giry would leave me alone. He would always put on a show I liked on the computers within 15 minutes though.

      The next day, Madame Giry made breakfast and I sat at the table with Erik and L. L usually didn’t come down for breakfast which I always just thought of was as he was too lazy to get up from his chair. He didn’t sleep, so maybe he was sleeping. Both were “logical explanations” as he’d say sometimes.

“ Hey L,” I said, and he nodded.

“ Good morning, Delilah.” L said, “ I see Madame Giry is making breakfast?”

“ Yup! About time, I’ve been making it for like 2 weeks!” I said, and Erik smiled.

“ I was getting a little tired of eating bread and toast anyway.” Erik said, “ One cannot live on toast for more than 14 days.” I thought _wow I think I tortured Erik with bread._

“ No, Delilah, you did not torture me with bread. I simply do not want to see another slice of it for a while.”

“ Yes sir.” I said as Madame Giry came out with croissants and crepes with a small bowl of whipped topping. I took a few onto my plate, and looked over to L. He was eating the whipped cream. I sighed, I’d wanted whipped cream on my croissants. I began to eat the crepe; Madame Giry was really good at making them. By the time L was finished with the whipped cream, Madame Giry came out with what looked like a chocolate crepe with a donut on the side.

“ L, you weren’t supposed to eat the whipped cream.” Madame Giry raised an eyebrow.  _  
_

“ Sorry, I didn’t think you’d made one for me.” L said, trading her the bowl of half-eaten whipped cream and taking his plate of a chocolate crepe.

She laughed, “ It’s alright. You want some right Delilah?”

“ Yes ma’am!” I said, and she went to get it. When she did, she also came out with tea for me, chocolate milk for L, and a large cup of coffee for Erik. I was half-finished with my breakfast when Madame Giry came to eat too. The doorbell rung at the front door, sending off a quiet sound of cathedral bells which Erik programmed the door to do. He got up from the table, going to get it while muttering something about not being able to finish his breakfast in French. I was picking up on it a little, but mostly basic stuff. I sighed, I should have taken it in school when they offered language courses, but at the time I had no idea about anything with the slayers and stuff. I wouldn’t have even imagined the life I was living three years before, I don’t think anyone could have. I heard Erik talking in French to someone and closing the door.

      I heard the voice of the Persian guy talking urgently, and then Erik’s voice getting less cheerful and more hushed. I couldn’t even make out what they had said to each other. Soon, the Persian guy, his butler, and Erik appeared back in the parlor. He nodded to L and I in greeting, and Madame Giry stood. “ What is this about?” She said, her hand on the table. I noticed her fingers were wrapped around the knife she’d been using to cut her crepe; she was holding it in a way which I would have if I wanted to quickly fling it up and into someone's head. I eyed it, wondering why she would want to stab the Persian guy. “ As you know, a while ago the Slayer’s council ordered Erik’s execution.” The Persian guy said, I didn’t want to think about Erik dying. I don’t know…I’d seen him kill so many slayers and never thought that one of them would kill him. It was just one of those things that you didn't think about but then you realized it when someone brought it up and even then it just didn't seem right so it felt like the last piece of a puzzle that didn't fit where the last space in the puzzle was. I often times forgot the Slayer's council even existed.

“ And they are sending the society after him.”

“ That’s bad,” I said pretty sure that all orders of execution were bad, and the Persian guy nodded.

“ Darius, my servant, masquerades as a slayer in order to get information from the council.” He said, " he says there has been more recent talk of it and it's stronger than before. They are really going to go after you, Erik, and with a lot of things."

Erik sighed, smiling like he was excited, yet his eyes looked like he was afraid. _“ Maintenant, le serpent qui tourbillonne sur mes talons est rampant derrière après avoir vu la mort de nombreux frères, prêts à mordre.”_ He clapped. _“ Avec le spectacle!”_

“ What the fuck are you saying?!” I said, and he laughed.

“ Nothing that concerns you, Delilah.” He said, “ Erik has no intent on dying, not now, not when he has adjusted to his life. No, humans have hurt Erik enough. Let them come for me, I will strike them down like weeds in a pasture." There was a noise upstairs.

“ Ah, they’ve arrived.” He paused, “ wait. No, that aura is demon. Delilah, who came while I was gone?”

“ Oh! I almost forgot about Sebastian.”

“ Sebastian Michaelis, as if Ciel Phantomhive’s butler?”

“ Yeah, last I checked there wasn’t any other Sebastian.”

“ What is he doing here?”

“ I don’t know apparently his Masters went AWOL and he’s looking for them. He collapsed a few times like a dead pony, so he‘s really tired.”

“ Ah, yes, I feel his aura…he’s sleeping again.” Erik said, “ seems like he needs it. Ah well, what host would I be if I denied a guest?”

“ A reasonable one considering it was after 2 AM.”

“ Whatever,” Erik said, “ we have to prepare for slayers.”

“ Is a barricade in order?” L asked, and Erik nodded. “ Let’s get to doing that right after breakfast.”

***  
  
      " Monsieur Erik, what on earth are you doing?" I had awoken from a fruitful rest and ventured down to the doorway, which was being covered in brick.

" Ah! Sebastian. The slayer's council has ordered Erik's execution and he does not want to die!" His voice was border lining hysterical and excited. I backed away slightly. 

" May I leave?" I inquired, not very eager to face numerous slayers. 

" Let's see, probably not." Nadir said, " hello, Mr. Michaelis."   
" Hello Nadir," I said. " Are all of the window barricaded?"   
" Yes."   
" And the doors exiting?"   
" Yes and I think he'd," he gestured to Erik, " be angry if you disturbed them." Erik was working at a psychotic pace, and L lingered in the corner of the door to the parlor and opening corridor, his glance reminding me a bit of the other Master. The house was dark. 

I sighed, " very well then, if I must stay here until the siege is over."   
" You can get that break my brother talked about," L said. 

" Yes, I suppose I can." I said, smiling softly at the thought. Madame Giry came from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron smeared with blood and flour no doubt making provisions for whatever laid ahead. 

" Monsieur Michaelis," she said with a nod.

" Madame Giry," I addressed back with a similar nod. She touched my shoulder and angled me so I faced a different direction, smearing some flour on my tailcoat much to my dismay. 

" Monsieur, if you would kindly go into the labyrinth in case of siege." Madame Giry said before she looked to L. " _Mon Dieu_ L! You are supposed to be in the labyrinth with Delilah!" She threw her hands down in an aggravated motion. Much like an uncaring teenager, he shrugged. Madame Giry groaned and pointed down the hall. " You two! Just leave!" 

" Yes ma'am." L said, walking. Being unfamiliar with Monsieur Erik's labyrinth, I followed L into it.

       " L, do you know where we are going?" I asked, surveying the dark and damp brick hallway.

" Exactly where we are going," L said, " Erik taught me everything about this place." He looked around it, " he's quite the builder."  
" Yes," I mused, " people even ventured he might have been a child of Athena, but that is a rumor."  
" It might be true," L said. " Knowing the immortal's seeming obsession with 'perfect families' and the fact she left Erik's father. I'll keep that in mind. Plus, she wouldn't have claimed him when the Athena children were captured if she disowned him."

" Ah yes, I forgot about that. It is very plausible she could have disowned him." I said, looking around. The corridor ended with two large cathedral doors and lanterns. L took out a gold key and opened the doors, revealing the foyer to a mansion. I went in and he locked the various locks behind it, tracing his fingers into grooves in the door which lit up and faded.

" Enchantments." I noted, " Erik was quite clever."  
" I know he is," L said, looking downward. " Will you cook for us?"  
" Perhaps," I said, and he smiled.

" Ciel said you made the best sweets he ever tasted," L said, " I would like it if you made Delilah and I some."   
" She's here too?" I asked, and he nodded. 

I could hear a TV in the distance playing the most annoying theme song. " Joy," I whispered, walking down the dark foyer and into the living room. Delilah sat, looking at the TV, gesturing me to be silent as she bit into a piece of bread. I sat with her on the couch, and L reclined in a large recliner, eating a chocolate bar. I closed the door, wondering how long I would be there.  
 


	24. Barricades

***

    “Hello Masters, says Webster.” Said Snake, “Mr. Sebastian is not here, says Edgar, shall I drive you home?”  
“No, Snake,” Drossel said, “I shall drive the carriage. You tend to the Masters inside of the carriage.” Drossel said, climbing on the front seat of the carriage. I got inside of it with Ciel and Snake, then Snake closed the door. With a whinny from two ghost-like horses, we set off for home.  
“I know it’s none of my business says Webster, but how did you find your way home?”  
“Well,” I said, “Drossel has some sort of a GPS in his mind because he led us home.”  
Snake nodded, “we don’t know where Mr. Sebastian is.”  
“He is simply a servant, there is no use looking for him. Also, we have Drossel.” Ciel said, “Will you mind the absence of human food, Nico?”  
“I don’t need it to live, do I?”  
“No.”  
I thought about it, I hadn’t missed a single day of human food ever since I had become a vampire. “Alright,” I said.  
“After all, I don’t see the point in eating human food anyways. Really all I still enjoy is tea.”  
“ Well then, we can have tea I guess.” I said, and he nodded.  
“I had no intentions on not having tea.” Ciel said, and I shrugged. I was indifferent to having tea, but if Ciel liked it, I wouldn’t argue.  
       The Victorian mansion sat exactly the way it had sat before, and Finny looked up from the bush he was tending to and waved at the carriage. The carriage stopped and Snake opened the door, then Ciel and I got out of the carriage. I began walking the steps up to the house, and Mey-Rin opened it. I was surprised by a hug from her. “MASTTTERR!” She yelped as though she’d been worried about me, which no doubt she had. “I’m so happy to see you!”  
“Is Sebastian back?” I said as she let me go.  
“No, Mr. Sebastian has not returned. But Bard, Finny, Mr. Tanaka and I have been keeping the house just as you left it!” She reported, and I nodded.  
“Very well…carry on I guess.” I said, and she went back inside the house. Ciel was already halfway down the foyer, going towards the staircase. I knew he wasn’t going to wait for me, so I ran and caught up to him.  
“Drossel,” he said, “make us a pot of tea and send me the reports that came in the mail.”  
“Yes Lord Phantomhive.” He said, going off to do so. That left Ciel and I alone.  
      We walked in silence until we got to the top of the staircase. “I was meaning to tell you this for quite some time, Nico.” Ciel said, his cane clicking softly on the hard wood flooring. Hadn’t there been carpet there? Mey-Rin.  
“What is it?” I said, getting my mind off the lack of carpet.  
“Hazel…I knew her before you. Many of the Earls of the Underworld were sent to Alaska because even though Hades himself could not travel there, he sent his Earls. All were raven-crow demons, and we were assigned to watch over Hazel and Marie Levesque’s progression with Gaea. At the end of every month, we were to report to Hades while not interfering directly or having her have an idea whatsoever of what we were, making it very different from my current assignment. It was called ‘the Nigrum Pluma Affair.’”  
“ The Black Feather Affair,” I translated, “after the fact you were raven-crow type demons?”  
“Correct,” Ciel said. “Either way, all of the raven-crow demons in the society of the Earls of the Underworld were sent to Alaska. I dwelled with Sebastian by the water there and finally the time arose when we were alerted of Hazel’s oncoming death. I saw her on her boat, even though she was far from shore. I could not reveal my true self, however, I felt obligated to warn her of her impending death. All of the other raven-crow demons had bad blood between Hazel and Marie Levesque because a flock of them had gone to Marie and cawed at her while she did work for their amusement. The owner took a small rifle and shot at them. No one wanted to go, as they saw it as an omen, a factor to that being that the Earls of the Underworld and children of Hades never got along. It had been suggested by Hades because no interfering we could do would prevent Hazel’s death.” That made me angry. Why hadn’t my Dad asked the demons to save Hazel before? It made her death seem pointless to me. “Your Father could not stop Gaea, Nico. If it didn’t happen once, it would happen later in her life. Her ideal life without Gaea had already been shattered; there was no point. Gaea was too strong, Hades felt he was doing all he could, and as an Earl-”  
“You couldn’t disobey his orders.”  
“Right,” the clacking of Ciel’s cane softened as we reached carpets. “I flew out across the bay, and as a crow, I cawed the warning. As crows, demons can say only words and phrases.”  
“ You were the crow, the one that said-”  
“The last night. Tonight.“  
“ That was all you could do.”  
 He nodded, “ It was all I could do. There was no saving your sister.”  
“ What did you think when I resurrected her?”  
“ Quite frankly, I thought you were a fool. I thought Thanatos would take her back and you’d only be hurt twice.” Ciel said, “ I was the herald of her end, and many people questioned me when she was brought back. I had no answer for them, for I was no affiliated with her resurrection. Why did you do it, Nico?” He stopped and turned to me.  
“ Because she was my sister, and she deserved to live also.”

***

“ How long will the barricade last?” I asked Erik, who sat in a chair. The room was a dark library with two leather chairs, a worn table, and a single Edison bulb hanging from a cord in the ceiling. The books which were all over the room had smudged out titles on the side and faded, their words nearly having lost meaning if not had lost their meaning entirely. In a corner there was a large pipe organ with worn keys and music sheets strewn around This was the study, and it certainly held a more hostile and eerie feel than the study that was in the mansion above this one. I had explored it and found curious things about our bunker. It was like a mansion and was prepared for everything ranging from something radioactive to rain and flood. It was prepared for anything as far as I saw it.  
“ Presumable until I kill the Slayer’s Council,” Erik said, sipping blood from a wineglass. “ This was from the first of them. They stopped after I killed that group before and decided to start again. It might be years before all of this is sorted out. However, I am leery about keeping you two underground. I planned something for you above ground, L. You and Delilah will stay with Soma for a while, because no one knows that someone other than I that someone lives in the house above ground at all times.”  
“ What do you have planned for me?”  
“ Well, I hired a demon friend of mine. They are good in helping people contact lost loved ones wherever they are through dreams. I thought that because of how shaken you were with the Wammy Boys that you could contact them and get a little closure.”  
“ Okay,” I said. Erik just wanted to help me and I understood that; and he had the right idea.  
“ Also, Delilah won’t like living down here. She’s a social demon and doesn’t like to be in one place that she believes is boring without going outside.”  
As if on cue, she walked in. “ Are you two like, having a meeting or something?” Delilah said, narrowing her glance. “ You two have been acting really suspicious lately. What’s up with that? Are you two like, together or something?”  
“ Hell no.” Erik replied, “ There are merely things we need to discuss, Delilah, and they aren’t intended towards you. You and L might be living with Soma until this whole execution thing blows over.” He laughed, and Delilah backed away a little bit.  
“ Um, Mister Erik, I think you need to calm down.” Delilah said, “ I’m sure you’ll be fine, I mean, no slayer has EVER beat you in combat. You’re going to be okay.”  
He laughed again, “ you silly, silly little girl. No Earl of the Underworld has ever lived once they were confronted by the whole Slayer’s Council.”  
“ Yeah, but you might! And I’m, not a silly little girl!” Delilah said, “ You need to have more faith in yourself!”  
“ Don’t you see Delilah,” he said, “ I’m not going to live forever! I was doomed from the start and I shall face it at the approaching end! Don’t you see, there is not such thing as hope for me and there never was!”  
“ But you’re different, Erik, you’re different than they were!” Delilah was about to cry, and I found her argument compelling so I joined it.  
“ Indeed, you have killed more slayers than the 5th Earls of the Underworld, therefore you are certainly more skilled. There is a low percentage that you will not beat the Slayer’s Council considering the fact that those before you lacked in their ability compared to you.”  
“ L, my boy, you have so much faith in old Erik. I fear this time, for the first time, your assumptions about me are wrong.” With a sad look in his eyes, he disappeared, even though I still felt as though his glare was upon me. I looked at Delilah who was trying not to cry.  
“ There is only a 30% chance he’s going to die.” I said, I wasn’t good with people’s feelings.  
“ I know,” Delilah said. “ But…what if he doesn’t try?”  
“ I’ll help you,” I said, “ if he dies. I’ll help you kill them all.”  
“ Okay,” Delilah said. Sebastian walked in, sitting in the chair that Erik had.  
“ I have seen Master Erik face many things; yet never has he acted so strangely.” Sebastian said, “ It’s quite peculiar actually.”  
“ D-Do you know if he’s going to die?”  
“ Old I may be, but seeing the future was never a talent of mine. If I could see the future, I would have ate my Master’s soul instead of making a contract had I known what would transpire in the future of it.”  
Delilah sighed, sitting on the table. “ I-I don’t want to be the fifth countess….I don’t want Erik to die…I don’t want to be alone in slaying things.”  
“ I highly doubt that you’d be alone,” Sebastian said, “ They’d give you an apprentice just like you are to Erik. If you look on the better side of things, they predicted Erik was going to die over 2 years ago because the purpose of making you a demon was to replace him after his death. He has not died even when the other Earls thought he would that year; his life is prolonged.”  
“ Shut up!” Delilah said, crying now. “ Why do you have to be like that?! Why can’t you just say he’s going to live like L and I?!”  
“ Because I have been ordered not to lie to my Master, and because L is the brother of one of my masters, I feel as though that applies here. If I were to tell you he lives, I do not know that yet for certain, and if he dies I would be lying. So I can only tell you the truth of what I know, and even then I am giving you a sweeter truth than what I could say.”  
“ Fuck you!” Delilah went out of the room.  
“ She’s hurting, Sebastian.” I told him, “ That was a risky thing to say.”  
“ I am not scared of risks.” Sebastian said, “ I never was, and perhaps that is what caught me in the disaster of the contract I formed. Had I been more cautious, I would have eaten his soul without delay instead of catering to my interests of seeing how things would go. I did not think of the scenario that something like him becoming a demon could happen. However, I have learned from that to be more cautious.”  
I looked around the library. “ You can lie around me, Sebastian. I don’t mind, after all, I can see through you’re lying because of my skills of deduction. I just think that around Delilah and in this situation, it’s better that you lie. She’s been through a lot, and I don’t think she wants to lose people in her life. Also, being the 5th Countess…that’s a heavy thought to think of.”  
“ You said you would help her, didn’t you?”  
“ I did.”  
“ Well then, Master L, I believe that she has nothing to fear.”  
“ Why does everyone have so much faith in me?”  
“ Because there are things about you that are like sparks, all you need to do is find a dying bonfire that you can benefit. Perhaps there are things you don’t want to do, Master L, but you may have to do them anyway.” Sebastian’s glance pierced me through as though he was looking into where my soul used to be. “ You may have things that force you too.”  
“ Do you know, Sebastian, where their souls are?”  
“ No one does.” Sebastian smiled and looked down. “ Wammy boys…there souls are quite enticing, you know…judgment throws away good souls that perfectly seasoned; it’s much like throwing away a meal. The Fields of Asphodel are more dangerous than the souls in them know. Demons lurk, awaiting the perfectly seasoned soul being thrown away. That’s why it amazes me to think Hazel Levesque lasted that long there. Perhaps she is luckier than she believes.”  
“ So your telling me someone ate them…” I said, telling myself I needed to calm down or else I’d start crying like Delilah.  
“ No, Master L. It’s not for certain that they were eaten…” Sebastian smiled. “ As I recall, you never got to the Judgment Hall. In fact, you never were able to pay the ferryman.”  
“ No..” I shivered, remembering the hours I waited in the lobby, accepting my eternity. I remember what the man at the desk told me.  
“ No drachma, no service.” His glance pierced me through his glasses.  
“ Why?” I asked, and he shook his head.  
“ Maybe your Dad will pay for you,” he said. I didn’t know what he was talking about. “ You didn’t think of this, did you?”  
“ I didn’t believe in life after death,” I admitted. He chuckled, I looked for a place to sit among the other forlorn souls.  
“ Ironic,” he said, and looked back at his book. I quickly realized I could not speak, and sat next to a woman. She moved her mouth, and I read her lips.  
“ Hello.” She seemed to recognize me and said something else. He woman seemed sad and hopeless, soon turning away.  
“ Hello.” I said to her, I recognized her yet I didn’t know where she was from. Soon, I could remember nothing. It was the scariest thing in the world. I didn’t remember anything, yet her face was so familiar. I wondered if this was hell. It lasted for 8 hours before I woke up, looking at the night sky, my memories returned and my mouth able to speak, and the man looking down at me with a smile. “ What am I?” I asked him.  
“ L-” Sebastian brought me out of the flashback.  
“ Oh, sorry.” I said, “ I-I didn’t meant to blink out on the conversation like that.”  
“ You were thinking about it, weren’t you?”  
“ Yeah.” I said, “ The person in the lobby was Naomi Misora.”  
“ What?”  
“ When I was in the lobby…I sat next to a woman. I couldn’t remember anything, I couldn’t speak. I read her lips, she said ‘hello Ryuzaki.’ She knew I lost, and I just think it’s so horrible she had to see me.” I said, “ Because before that she must have had hope Kira would be defeated because she was killed by Kira. I think her boyfriend was with her, but I’m not sure. The memory can be vivid and fuzzy at the same time.” I took a deep breath. “ A while later I visited their graves and buried some drachma there. The vampire who made me a vampire…he had some drachma lying around in his wallet.”  
“ That was kind of you, L. Very rarely have I seen kindness towards the dead.”  
“ You don’t want to leave here, do you?”  
“ Pardon?”  
“ You don’t want to leave. You want to stay here for as long as possible because when you leave, you know you have to go back to serving Ciel without a hint of rest.”  
He smiled deviously, “ that’s correct, L. This barricade if the perfect and only excuse I have; hopefully, Master will find it reasonable, and if not, I shall recall the asking of your brother for me to take off time. But you can not blame me, can you?”  
“ No,” I admitted, “ Ciel and Nico are kind of demanding sometimes. And I won’t tell anyone you said that…I think you trust me?”  
“ You have seen some of the darkest secrets of the house for you have watched it. You have yet to expose them, so yes, I suppose you are trustworthy.”  
“ Is the cake almost done?”  
“ Yes, it is cooling.”  
“ Alright.” I said, and he got up, leaving me in the library.


	25. Closure of Various Things

***

       “Young prince.” Agni shook my shoulder and I woke up.  
“Hello, Agni,” I said with a yawn, “are they back yet?”  
“No, but L and Delilah are here.”  
“What? Why?”  
“ The Slayer’s Council has ordered Erik’s execution and he wants them above ground with you where he believes that they are safer.”  
“ Oh yeah, now I remember.” I got up out of bed, and began to lazily walk out of my room and downstairs to the parlor. L and Delilah sat, not talking.  
“Hello you two.” I said, “Is Erik here?”  
“No,” Delilah said, “he left 20 minutes ago.”  
“Okay,” I said, “anything else I forgot?”  
“A demon is coming at 4:30.” Said L, “so I can go into some sort of spiritual form to visit dead Wammy Boys.”  
“Uhhh….” I didn’t know how the heck I was supposed to respond to that.  
“Erik says to watch.” L said, “in case anything goes wrong.”  
“Um, okay.” I said, thinking that it was supposed to be different from that. I sat on a recliner as Agni came back with my tea. “Any other news?”  
“Yes,” Delilah said, “what do you want to hear first?”  
“Hm, why don’t we start with Nico and Ciel?”

***

     Sebastian was back. “Terribly sorry, Young Master.” He said with a respectful bow, “I was barricaded in France.”  
“You are excused for your absence; I heard the news of the Slayer’s Council.” Ciel said, taking a sip of tea.  
Drossel stared at Sebastian from where he stood in the corner, looking like he was going to say, _“No, I refuse to move.”_ And Sebastian, with a slightly begrudging stare that lasted for only a few moments, stood in the corner by Ciel. Drossel smiled slightly, knowing that in the small and silent argument between them, he had won. It was then that Sebastian left the room, as a knock on the door was heard from downstairs. The knock on the front door was the largest, therefore making the biggest sound, making it audible to a demon or vampire throughout the entire house even though a human couldn’t have heard it from where we were. “I wonder what that could be,” I said, “All the councils finished today, right?”  
“Yes,” Ciel said, “unless it’s an emergency, no one should be coming to the house.”  
“ I wonder what happened,” I said, “ usually Alois and Dante come at random times, but I have a feeling it isn’t them. I only feel a demon presence down there, and Alois never comes without Dante.”  
“ Indeed,” Ciel said, “I do not think it is a Trancy.”  
“Alright,” I said. “Maybe it’s some news from another Earl? I remember one time a letter came at 12 o’clock at night.”  
“ If it is, it’s probably not going to concern us.” Ciel said, “after all, there isn’t much they can concern you in particular with. You’ve been out of the demigod world for roughly four and a half months now, and in that time all of their memories of anything after that time have been erased. Surely in this time many quests have transpired, rendering your disappearance as a mundane disappearance that is unsolvable.” I remembered people disappearing from Camp never to be seen again. It wasn’t common and usually they tried to look for them a few days after only to have no trace of what happened to them. No doubt that was what had happened with me; they probably gave up. “Those demigods you’re thinking of…you should have figured you are not the only monster who had a past of being a demigod.”  
“You mean, they’re alive?”  
“ Perhaps, many aren’t, and many are. They are forgotten and their loved one’s memories dulled and faded.”  
“ Just like me.”  
“ Just like you.”  
“ Hazel…after she was taken away and her memories erased…she did feel a sense of ease. She won’t look for me anymore; she knows I’m happy where I am.”  
“ Does she have a hint of where you are?”  
“ Nothing that would give you and me away. She doesn’t even know what you are, Ciel.”  
“ She knows just enough then.” Ciel said with a sigh. “ No matter how much I am displeased with the Undertaker, he does know his boundaries of what people should know when you do not want them to know anything.”  
“ You mean, he was the one who sent her the dream?”  
“ No one else would have.”  
I thought about the Undertaker and felt regret. He’d almost tricked me into thinking I could join the demigods again; he almost willingly took me away from Ciel when really I wasn‘t willing at all, I was being tricked. I didn’t know how I should have felt about him and what he almost made me do. I would have lied had I said that what happened that day didn’t put a small, slowly dissolving wedge between Ciel and I in our relationship which felt like we were feeling too much too fast yet enjoying it. Ciel got angry and frustrated, and maybe he still was. Even though I usually could see his motives even though other people couldn’t, I still couldn’t see if he held any resentment. The wedge slowed things down a little bit, but it was dissolving, and things were going back to the staggering growth that they had been at. There was silence between is for a while. “ That is much like the Undertaker,” Ciel said, “ we won’t see him for a very long time now. After he does something, he tends to curl away for a while.”  
“ Good,” I said. “ Something like what happened is never going to happen again.” Before, we’d shied away from this conversation or never really went into it after everything was said and done, but I had a feeling it needed to be discussed again.  
“ I would say it wouldn’t also.” Ciel said, “ You know of my intentions for you.”  
“ Yes,” I said. Ciel didn’t want me with anyone else, he wanted to own my heart, make it his completely. It was going in that direction, and I didn’t want it to leave that direction as much as he didn’t. “ Speaking for myself, I know there isn’t much that I can say other than I regret what I almost did and how I reacted to that. I’m happy we’re picking up the pace again though, because I do love you. I know you can never be happy, but I can try to make you happy or pleased anyways.”  
“ I feel the closest to joy when you are contented, Nico.” Ciel said, “ You have given me something to do. I was relatively bored when I became a demon.”  
Sebastian came back with the envelope on a silver platter. Ciel took the letter and opened it, looking at the contents. His eyes shined a little bit, and I thought he seemed nervous if he ever could seem nervous. “ They are calling for you.” Ciel said, “ The demigods, they're looking for you because the Camps are yet again in danger.”  
" How is it in danger?"  
" You do not need to know." The letter incinerated in Ciel's hand.  
" No," I agreed, " I guess I didn't need to know." I thought about it, looking for how I felt, and found that I truly did not care.

***

The chaise lounge chair was stiff, and I wondered how I was ever going to sleep. As the demon loomed over me, watching with their piercing red eyes, I wondered how I was going to sleep with that factor too. My heart was pounding, and I looked over to Soma, who sat in the corner of the room, and Delilah who sat in the other. Agni watched the demon as though to make sure that she wasn’t going to try anything. “ Relax,” she bid me, “ relax, it isn’t going to do you any good if you don’t sleep.”  
“ You’re giving me a glance like a hawk on prey,” I said, “ it’s not necessarily calming.”  
“ Plus he’s an insomniac,” Delilah added, “ I think.”  
“ You’re right,” I said, “ I am.”  
The demon woman smiled impatiently, and I hoped she wasn’t getting annoyed, even though a 3% chance said she was. “ Drink this then.” She got a bottle from her pocket, and Soma immediately put his hand up.  
“ No, I don’t trust you giving him anything to ‘sleep.’” Soma said, “ Call me crazy, but I do not trust any of this sorcery at all.”  
“ It’s just your religion,” the demon woman scoffed at Soma. “ Even then you should know this is perfectly safe.”  
“ When you say ‘this is perfectly safe’ it makes us not trust you.” Delilah narrowed her glance at the woman, “ and if I am soon to be the 5th Countess, I don’t want my first order to be an order of execution because you fucked up L when I could have stopped you.”  
“ Well said,” I told Delilah as the demon woman gave an impatient “shhh.” I sighed, “ I’ll take the medicine.”  
“ What, no!” Soma and Delilah said in unison.  
“ Will it really matter to me if I die?” I told the two of them, which made their glances turn sympathetic and regretful. I looked up at the ceiling as the demon woman uncorked the bottle. “ I was always a coward, Delilah. You should know that.” The cool liquid pressed against my lips, it tasted faintly of apples. Apples…Shinigami love apples; Light would buy apples for Shinigami who‘s Death Note he used…I felt myself slowly fading out into slumber as the anesthetic started.  
“ L,” Delilah said, “ don’t leave me to die you mother f-” Her voice faded out as my eyes closed.

       There was a valley with a night sky with no stars, just darkness. There was a field of brittle prairie grass, and I stood in it. I looked at A, who pointed at me. Beyond turned to me, and his eyes widened. “ Hey, L.” He said, “ You played a good game while it lasted.”  
“ I guess,” I said, “ where are Matt and Mello?”  
“ They’ll be back.” A said, “ So, you finally decided to join us, eh?”  
I looked around, it didn’t look like the Underworld here at all. “ Where are we?” I asked them.  
“ There’s no place for us, L. We damned people, we worked for justice, we did bad things and good things. They just stuck us in some reality that is neither good nor bad, just like we were.” Beyond said, “ I thought I was worse, but hey, I wasn’t going to tell them to punish me.”  
“ And it’s only you guys here?”  
“ Yeah,” A answered as Matt and Mello came into the valley. Mello was wearing leather, and he looked older than when I had last seen him, and so did Matt, who wore a striped shirt and blue jeans. Beyond wore a white shirt and black pants, and A looked like he had in the coffin, with his red hair slicked up with his usual light white button down shirt and gray dress pants. Near wasn’t there, so I assumed he was still alive. Mello gave me a hug, and Matt stood next to A, looking for him to explain.  
“ I’m, not dead,” I said, “ in fact, I’m a vampire.”  
“ No way.” Mello let me go, “ you mean even now you’re not going to stay?!” His eyes looked sad.  
“ No,” I said, knowing I wouldn’t want to spend eternity like they were. It was then that the final tie that held me back snapped. “ But you don’t be here for long.”  
“ What do you mean?” Matt asked, “ are you saying you’re going to make us vampires?”  
“ Yeah,” I said, and Beyond laughed.  
“ You really want to bring us back, all 4 of us?”  
“ Yeah, and I have a plan too.” I said, “ what if we had no successors, and just solved cases?”  
“ The successors did kind of fuck everything up, because we had a good system going.” Mello said, “ and we won’t need them.”  
“ And the over-powering, I suppose in this society we‘ll all be equal?” A said, and I nodded.  
“ Yeah, both of those things.” I said, “ Erik has connections.”  
“ Who’s Erik?”  
“ You’ll know, B, I think you‘ll like him.”

***

“ How interesting,” I said, reading the paper.  
“ What?” Said Luka, leaning over my shoulder to read the newsletter.  
“ Dante, your brother has set up his own crime-solving agency open for cases next week.” I said, chuckling, “ open to all of the Earls and Countesses for serious cases. He’s calling it the R.W.B.”  
“ Cases in Great Britain?” Dante said, sipping his tea.  
“ No, everywhere.” I said, “ but its beginning operations are being sent to the house above ground.”  
“ Which means something is wrong with Erik.” Luka said, “ because he wouldn’t have L be above ground for no reason. The slayers must have found him.”  
“ Right,” I said, giving the paper for Luka to read. “ That’s the most interesting newsletter this week. They’ve all been so terribly boring save the demigod one we got yesterday afternoon.” I smiled, “ I would love to make a few demigod contracts and raise hell, however, I don’t feel like it.”  
“ I wonder what Percy Jackson would think of you.” Luka laughed, “ and Jason Grace.”  
“ Oh, I’m smart enough not to go near them.” I said, “ it’s always easier to prey on the weaker ones that feel neglected by their parents compared to others. I would probably go after someone in the Athena cabin though because with Annabeth and all of the smart children, a stupider one would get discouraged easily and would be more likely to sell their soul.”  
“ You sound like you had it planned out.” Luka said, “ I never got a demigod soul! No fair!”  
“ You act as though I wouldn’t let you have a taste.” I said, “ you know I would.”  
“ And you should have known I was kidding.” Luka said, “ demigods…the lot of them seem dangerous no matter what Nico and Hazel had said…I wouldn’t associate with them.”

***

I watched as the darkness of the city slowly crawled inward on the city. “ We have nothing planned for tomorrow, Nico.” I informed him, “ I was thinking about seeing Soma above ground to make sure everything is in check there.”  
“ Because of the demigods?”  
“ Yes,” I said, it couldn’t have been for any other reason.  
A small smirk curled on Nico’s lips. “ Oh? And if they’re there, what do you plan to do?”  
“ Send them away,” I said. “ We cannot and should not help them.”  
“ I know…” Nico said, looking at his sword. It sat, glinting in the corner.  
“ You sharpened it.” I noticed, “ why?”  
“ In case any monsters come along with the demigods.” Nico said, “ I just had a feeling to bring it with me, just in case.”  
“ You’ll always be a warrior.” I said, “ that much will never change. However, what and how you fight will change.”  
“ It already has.” A smile curled on Nico’s lips, and he grabbed my hand. Together we watched the darkness descend faster and faster on the city.


End file.
